


Save Me, My Wolf

by Maisey2k10



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, Family, Humor, Imprinting, Post-War, Romance, Vampires, shape-shifters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:54:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 56
Words: 208,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24184699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maisey2k10/pseuds/Maisey2k10
Summary: This wasn't the life she'd expected to have after the War; tracking fugitive Death Eaters hell-bent on revenge, avoiding her fame and running from an overbearing ex-boyfriend and his mother, insistent that they marry. But when Hermione temporarily settles on a quiet patch of territory in the States and meets a handsome young man, her life changes for the better as he gives her a new outlook on life and a new love. The kind of love she had craved and that she needed. Rated for language, violence and sexual content. This does have Ron/ Molly Weasley bashing, and Cullen bashing! (Mostly Edward and Bella). HGxSC pairing! Imprinting!
Relationships: Seth Clearwater/Hermione Granger
Comments: 42
Kudos: 259





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and Stepheni Myers. I am not making a profit from writing and posting this fanfic. As for the descriptions of appearances for the Twilight characters, all my research is based on the books and not the movies. I have also changed Seth's age by a year, instead of him being fifteen, he's now sixteen, just to make the age gap smaller.
> 
> I am aware that American schools tend to end earlier for the summer, than British schools do, and so in order to get the timeline right for the story, I had to change a few things, and the pack will still be attending school for a short while, until I state otherwise.
> 
> Page count: 7

**Tuesday 23rd May 2006**

Hermione lay sprawled on her bed in the bedroom of the magical tent she had purchased. She stared up at the bland ceiling with tears silently falling down her face. She felt anger, despair, betrayal. The reason for those feelings?

_Ronald Billius Weasley_.

The war had been over for thirteen months and in that time, the Wizarding World had slowly been rebuilt and its people mourned their losses and began to move on. Businesses now thrived, Hogwarts was once again shaping the next generation of witches and wizards, marriages and pregnancies flourished, Death Eaters were captured and crime was on the down thanks to the remarkable work of the Law Enforcement Department. The Ministry was no longer corrupt, every employee had undergone a thorough background check and if anyone was found to have been a Voldemort sympathizer, they either lost their job or they were demoted and observed closely until they'd proven themselves worthy of the position they'd once held. And all that wouldn't have been possible without the dedication and hard work of Kingsley Shacklebolt, the newly and officially voted Minister of Magic.

Whilst Harry and Ron had opted to start Auror training and helping to track and capture the fugitive Death Eaters that had escaped after the Final Battle, Hermione had chosen to return to Hogwarts to complete her education. It hadn't been what she was expecting, if she were honest, as she hadn't returned as a seventh year but an eighth year. Due to that fact, Hermione and her fellow eighth years didn't have the same restrictions as the rest of the school; they were allowed to apparate, floo or port-key home on the weekends and they were allowed to visit Hogsmeade whenever they wished as long as they didn't do so during class times or misrepresent the school with their behaviour. The eighth years were also allowed the privilege of being without the restriction of a curfew and they'd all been given access to the restricted section in the library, something Hermione had taken advantage of as much as possible.

With only a total of twelve eighth years returning to Hogwarts, McGonagall had understood that they were no longer students but soldiers and survivors of war. They'd seen and experienced more than most being on the front lines and for that reason, they'd been given a shared common room and their own dorms far away from the remaining school populace, something Hermione had appreciated.

Every student with the exception of the new first years had to not only repeat the material from the year before due to the poor education they'd gotten during Voldemort's control, but they also had to learn the material for their expected year. That was where Hermione and other eighth years had gotten lucky; they'd had to repeat their seventh year, and so whilst most of the school was in classes, she only had to attend lectures for seventh years and the rest of the time she'd had independent study. When the school year came to end and she graduated, she left with twelve NEWTs at O level under her belt, something she'd worked incredibly hard for and she was proud of.

Before Hermione returned to Hogwarts, she and Ron had started dating. They would write to each other during the week (though her more than him, as expected) and she would visit him every weekend at the Burrow with as he lived there along with his parents, Harry and Ginny. She'd believed their relationship to be going well and it was three months into their relationship when she'd decided to lose her virginity to Ron, and three weeks later, news about their relationship and sexual exploits were splashed across the _Daily Prophet_.

Things had only gotten worse from there; when she returned home for weekends, Ron would always insist they go out for dinner, or for a drink, or to a club and Hermione had quickly understood that Ron had developed a taste for fame. Where she much preferred to avoid the press, Ron sought them out, posing enthusiastically and giving autographs and interviews without a second thought. He _loved_ the limelight and Hermione _hated_ it and it had marked the start of their relationship going south and been the start of countless arguments.

Ron had yelled at her, saying that she wasn't the same Hermione, that she was duller, sadder and that she needed to learn to have fun. They'd been through a war, her parents had been murdered, she'd been tortured, she'd killed people! Of course, she wasn't the same Hermione! No one was the same after what they'd face. She knew the horrors of the world, she knew monsters existed. She was no longer naive and ignorant. She wasn't a child anymore.

After that, things had started going downhill _really_ fast.

Two months later, photographs of Ron dancing and drinking with scantily dressed women started cropping up in the _Daily Prophet_. She had, of course, confronted him and he'd downplayed the situation, saying that nothing happened. Hermione had taken him at his word as the photographs only speculated what was happening, they didn't show the whole story.

Due to the build-up of students, the eighth years took their NEWTs in March whilst the seventh years took them in June as normal, and with that, Hermione had officially graduated 31st March.

_Flashback..._

Ronald had failed to show for her graduation ceremony but Harry had been present as had Arthur Weasley. Once the ceremony had been over, she'd retrieved her trunk and left Hogwarts for the final time, using the pre-arranged port-key to travel to the Burrow. The unusual home had been bustling with activity, everyone being present to celebrate Hermione's graduation, but she hadn't seen Ron on her arrival. After greeting the others, she'd noticed Ron's hand on the clock pointing to 'home' and she'd gone in search of him.

After checking all of his usual hiding spots in the Burrow, she'd headed onto the grounds, checking the shed and seeing his broom not being missing, searching the fields and not seeing him hiding amongst the tall grass and walking by the lake, not seeing him lounging by the water. She was planning to head back to the Burrow when she thought of one final place to check, the treehouse. It was older than the Burrow itself, it having been built by the previous owners of the land before it had been gifted Molly as a wedding gift. The treehouse was a place of the Weasley children had frequented when growing up, spending most of their summer days by the lake, in the treehouse and playing Quidditch, including herself and Harry.

Arriving at her destination, she carefully climbed the ladder, halting to a stop when she reached mid-way, freezing when she heard a noise; a grunt that was followed by an overly dramatic moan.

Hermione felt her body shaking as she heard a distinct slapping sound that was followed by more moans and without a second thought, she steeled herself and continued up the ladder, climbing up onto the platform and pushing the door open.

She felt bile rising in her throat, her stomach churned and her breathing stopped.

Ron stood with his t-shirt creased, his jeans and boxers down his ankles and he grunted as he shagged the witch with her skirt up by her hips and her legs wrapped around his waist. Her top was missing, leaving her bra-clad and her hands gripped Ron's shoulders, her nails painted a too-bright pink as they dug into his skin. Hermione's eyes travelled upwards to see blonde hair and brown eyes. Lavender Brown.

She stumbled back, the railing catching her fall before she plummeted to the ground and a sickening gasp fell from her lips.

Ron's head snapped to glance behind him, his eyes widening in horror.

"Hermione!" He cried, removing Lavender's legs from around his waist before stepping back, ungracefully and none too gently dropping the witch to the ground before he pulled his jeans and boxers up, making his way towards her.

"No, stop!" Hermione ordered coolly, her eyes devoid of any emotion, her features set hard and a sneer on her face.

Ron halted in surprise, his face paling.

"How long? How long have you been fucking her?"

"I..."

"How long, Ronald?" She snarled.

"Seven months," Lavender answered, a cruel smirk marring her features as she pulled herself to her feet, shifted her skirt down legs and pushed her hair over her shoulder smugly.

Hermione's eyes snapped to her, narrowing hatefully.

"I see. Well, then, you can have my sloppy seconds. He wasn't that good in bed anyway," she said meanly, turning her back to them and heading for the ladder.

"No, Hermione, I love you! Me and Lavender are nothing, she means _nothing_ to me. It's you I love. It's always been you! I'm sorry, I won't see her again, I promise! In fact, I have this for you."

He hastily fished his hand in his jean pocket and pulled out a black velvet ring box, opening it to reveal a simple silver band with a solitaire diamond sat in the centre. She stared at him coldly.

"Marry me?" He pleaded.

"You can't marry her, I'm pregnant!" Lavender shrieked. Ron twisted to look over his shoulder, his already pale colouring taking a sickly hue as he dropped the ring box to the ground in surprise. "Almost three months."

A dark, mirthless laugh left Hermione.

"No, go and fuck yourself, better yet, there's the mother of your future child over there, go fuck her instead."

Hermione turned and she couldn't get away from him fast enough, and rather than climbing down the ladder, she jumped over the wooden railing of the platform, falling ten feet before hitting the ground. When she landed, she hurt her ankle but paid it no mind as she made her way to the Burrow as fast as she could, ignoring Ron's shouts of her name and Lavender's screeches.

She pushed the door open and stormed into the living room, seeing it bustling with every Weasley present bar Ginny, all of them waiting for the celebratory dinner to be served in Hermione's honour. When they noticed her arrival, all talk and laughter halted to sudden silence at the sight of her flushed skin, tears falling down her cheeks, her wand gripped in her hand but most alarmingly, the little golden sparks crackling around her wilder than usual hair.

"Mia, what's happened?" Fred's brow furrowed in concern, sharing a glance with his twin brother.

During the Final Battle, Hermione had saved Fred's life when she'd discovered his weak pulse, alerting her to the fact he was still alive. He'd been presumed dead due to his crush injuries from the wall, no one having expected him to survive such an incident and with his lack of movement and response, his vital signs hadn't been checked. Hermione understood why given the death total and the high volume of injured, and whilst she'd been horrified that his condition had been overlooked, she knew there wasn't anything she could do other than alert the medi-witches. He'd been rushed to St. Mungo's and she'd visited him in the hospital every day, allowing a distraught George the chance to take a trip home, shower and dress and get a few hours sleep.

She and the twins had never been as close as she and Ginny were, or even Harry and Ron, but she knew they'd always considered her a sibling with her constant presence in the lives and in their home. They'd grown up together no matter the two year age gap. Whilst Fred had been in the hospital, she and George had gotten to know one another a little better and a bond slowly formed, that bond carrying over to Fred once he woke from his coma two weeks later and was released from St. Mungo's two weeks after that.

Hermione's mother hen tendencies made an appearance, coddling the older wizard until she annoyed so much, he blocked her access to WWW, something George had found great amusement in, undoing his brother's restrictions just to watch Hermione scold him for hours on end. Fred had never been more relieved when she finally returned to Hogwarts but George often wrote to her, admitting his brother missed her annoyingly endearing behaviour.

Hermione knew that if there was ever a problem she couldn't discuss with Harry, Fred and George would be her next option.

"Ask him," she snarled and she whipped around, her wand pointing in Ron's direction as he entered the house with Lavender trailing behind him.

"Hermione, please," Ron begged, looking very pale at the looks he was receiving, especially since Lavender was behind him and still without a top, not bothering to cover herself up, much to Hermione's disgust. The witch had no shame.

"Tell them, Ronald. Tell them how you've been cheating on me for _seven_ months. Tell them how you've been fucking the Gryffindor Queen of Sluts behind my back. Tell them how you've slept with all those women you were photographed with by the _Daily Prophet_. Tell them how when I caught you shagging Lavender, you proposed to me. Tell them how she's nearly THREE FUCKING MONTHS PREGNANT!" She snapped, her wand arm visibly shaking in her fury.

She heard gasps and exclamations of surprise from behind her.

"Is this true?" Harry questioned, his tone cold and his green eyes narrowed behind his glasses.

"No, of course, it isn't, Harry," Ron denied, "We're mates, you know I'd never do that to 'Mione."

"You fucking liar, I caught you with your pants down your ankles and her thighs wrapped around you whilst you fucked her into the wall of the treehouse," she snarled, dropping her wand in favour of lunging for him.

George quickly intervened, catching her mid-jump and trapping her in-between him and Fred as they both folded their arms around her and quietly shushed her as she let out cries of betrayal, anger and despair that were muffled by their robes.

Harry drew his wand but was quickly restrained by Bill and Charlie, his arms pinned behind his back as he struggled to break free, the Curse Breaker and the Dragon Tamer trying to restrain him without hurting him but he was putting up a fight.

"I'm going to _kill_ you!" Harry warned darkly. "When they let me go, I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Ron paled further and took a step backwards.

"'Mione, we're still getting married, we talked about it, remember?"

She drew back from Fred and George, the twins being reluctant to release her lest she attempts to throw herself at Ron beat him with her tiny fists, fists they knew she knew how to use. Her punching Draco Malfoy in the face had been the talk of Gryffindor Tower for weeks and she'd become a legend in their eyes.

"Fuck off, Ronald! You're dead to me and now I have to go to St. Mungo's and get myself checked over. Who knows what I've caught from you?" She spoke coldly, reaching up to wipe the tears from her cheeks before she turned her back to them and headed for the fireplace, grabbing a handful of floo powder and stepping inside.

Fred and George had both threatened vengeance on Ron before following her to the hospital. She'd cried on them as she waited to be seen to by a Healer, later getting a clean bill of health. When they headed to the nearest floo network, she'd realised she'd had nowhere to go, having previously been staying at the Burrow, but the twins had to her aid, _demanding_ she stay with them.

She'd spent days crying into her pillow or one of the twins' chest, both having taken it in turns to be on 'Hermione Watch' as the other tended to WWW. When she'd no longer had any tears left to cry, she'd come to the decision that she needed to leave, she needed some time away for herself and she'd offered her services to Kingsley.

After completing a crash course in Auror training, personally taught by Harry and Kingsley, Hermione's plan was to help with the tracking and capturing of fugitive Death Eaters, something required focus, time, effort and travelling. It was exactly what she needed. After both her efforts in the war and her training, her reflexes were faster, her instincts were honed, her ability to cloak herself was up there with the best of them (it being her speciality) and her battle and her duelling skills were better than most, especially for someone of her age.

Three weeks after her graduation, she left England and headed for America.

Her plan was different to the current MLE strategies. Whilst they were tracking the fugitive Death Eaters through sightings, known associates, purchases and known behaviour and such, Hermione's plan was to do the opposite. She was going to bring them to her, especially when they'd all fled England, slowly making their way through Europe and towards the other continents. She knew they wouldn't miss the opportunity to kill Undesirable Number Two and War Heroine, Hermione Granger.

She deliberately used traceable magical transportation, she deliberately left trails that led to her, she never disguised herself or her appearance, she signed autographs and took photos with those that recognised her and she used her real name, making no attempt to hide it. And it had all worked.

During her journey to America, she'd already caught captured three Death Eaters, sending word to Harry and Kingsley, who sent a team of Aurors to retrieve them. She wasn't technically an Auror; she was treated more as a free-lance worker but with her being the recipient of an Order of Merlin: First Class, it gave her a lot of leeway, and now, there were fewer than fifteen fugitive Death Eaters to be caught.

_Present time..._

That was how she found herself in La Push, Washington, crying on her bed. She hadn't been there long, three days at most. She'd pitched her tent in the woods of La Push and it was simple but much nicer than the tent they'd used when they'd been hunting for Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Her current tent had a total of six rooms, almost double the size of the previous one. It held two bedrooms, the master bedroom was found at the very back of the tent, holding a queen-sized bed, a bedside table, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers all in cream. She hadn't bothered to decorate, leaving the room beige and cream with dark flooring. To the left of her bedroom was the bathroom, it housing a sink, shower and toilet, the colour scheme being the same cream and beige as her bedroom. To the right of the bathroom was the second bedroom, slightly smaller than hers and also not decorated.

In the corridor leading to her bedroom, she had her makeshift potions lab with orange-red walls, two workbenches sitting two cauldron's each, two cabinets on the wall, one filled with potion ingredients, the other filled with completed potions, potions that she would likely need – healing potions and salves, Polyjuice, things of that sort. She'd erected a series of wards to prevent the potion fumes from seeping into the rest of the tents, as well as to ensure the correct brewing environment with Ventilation Charms and Temperature Management Charms.

The open planned living room and kitchen were positioned at the front of the tent, the living room consisting of one black couch and the matching armchair with a dark wood coffee table and two matching bookcases positioned on the wall with all the appropriate Enlargement Charms to fit her growing collection of books. The kitchen was simple with an oven, cupboards above and below the dark wooden countertop and a sink, the walls being a calming shade of blue.

There was a reason she had chosen La Push and Forks. Aside from the reason that it was a small town and somewhere Ron would never find her or think to search, she'd read a file at the Ministry that stated there was a coven of vampires in Forks and a pack of shape-shifting wolves in La Push. She'd read the entire file front to back several times, absorbing all the information she could and admittedly, it wasn't much. She knew the pack of wolves protected their land and they never harmed humans, only vampires that came onto their territory. She disliked vampires and had since the Final Battle but it couldn't be helped; she believed that as long as she avoided them, she'd be fine.

There was something inside her of her that had drawn her there. Something deep down, something in her very magic and she hadn't been able to explain, the only logical explanation being that it was a psychological reaction. By having those magical beings nearby, she believed she would feel less isolated whether they knew about her or not. She hadn't yet seen any wolves but she also had the suspicion that it would soon change. She didn't know how long a duration she'd stay in La Push, but she would catch as many Death Eaters as possible whilst she was working on her anger.

Having Death Eaters chasing her helped her with that, her anger, she had an outlet and she knew they wouldn't hold back and so she didn't either. She'd come to realise that she hadn't loved Ron, not like how she should've done. She loved him like a friend and had for a while, it was likely why they always argued, why they didn't fit as a couple. They couldn't be more opposite. What made her angry was the fact that he'd cheated on her for seven months of their relationship, no matter how shitty a relationship it was. He'd cheated on her. He'd betrayed her. He'd lied to her. He'd treated her made a fool of her. He'd made her feel self-conscious about her body due to the remarks he'd make. He wasn't good for her, not as a boyfriend and not as a friend.

Sighing and sniffling, Hermione lobbed a pillow across the room before wiping her tears from her face with the backs of her hands, suddenly startling when she felt an alarm being triggered. It was set against Death Eaters and another had found her.

_Fantastic_ , she thought.

A scary smile pulled at her mouth before she sat up and pulled on her white converse to go along with her blue skinny jeans and her white woollen jumper. She stood and crossed to the mirror, scrutinising her appearance. Her usually soft and kind features were set hard, determination and focused. Her ivory complexion held a few scars from over the years, most on her torso and left arm, but she had a few on her back, one on her neck and another on her left temple, too, the latter being visible whilst the others were hidden by her clothing.

She pulled her hair into a high ponytail to keep it out of her face and she drew her wand, taking a breath before she left the tent, apparating a mile away from it and knowing they would pick up her trail. And they did.

She hadn't been expecting two Death Eaters to be facing her, though they looked unkempt, their hair messy, dirt on their faces and black robes and they were missing their masks. Hermione recognised them both. Lowel and Perce, two low-level Death Eaters but they'd caused a lot of damage during the battle.

"Mudblood!" Lowel spat.

She smirked, a coldness to her eyes that would rival the Dark Lord himself.

"Death Eaters," she tipped her head slightly.

She was outnumbered, she knew it and they knew it and then the battle started. They didn't hesitate to use dark magic where she stuck to grey, questionable magic. Whilst not as damaging as their own spell casting, hers packed one hell of a punch, not only due to the force she was placing behind her spell work but because Hermione was channelling her bottled up anger from the last eight years and putting it to use.

They had several cuts on their faces and bruises forming on their bodies. Hermione was faring better; despite being outnumbered, she was more battle experienced and smaller, she had power and agility on her side. She had a few tears in her jumper, scrapes on her hands and cuts on her arms.

She turned on the spot and ran through the woods, coming out onto the beach which she'd explored the night before. It was an open space, meaning they had more room to move and less of a chance of being hit or of her being backed into a corner.

Her feet hit the sand hard as she ran as fast as she could, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible, ducking curses and throwing her own spell work over her shoulder in return, smiling when she heard one of them hiss in pain.

But she didn't notice the crowd of people on the beach before it was too late.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 6

**Tuesday 23rd May 2006**

No more than six hundred feet in front of her, there was a crowd of people on the beach, some sat on blankets and looking to be couples judging from how close they sat and the others were running around the beach, kicking a ball between them.

_Shit! Muggles!_

She didn’t think anyone would be at the beach giving that it’d rained all day yesterday and despite it being spring, it was cold outside, the clouds thick and grey promising more rain, and it was late afternoon, it would soon be getting dark. Bloody hell, the boys didn’t even look to be bothered by it, going shirtless where the girls had wrapped up in jumpers and coats.

She had to get the Death Eaters away from them without drawing attention to themselves and without using magic. They wouldn’t miss the opportunity to harm or kill the muggles, especially in front of her. She had to keep their attention on her. Only anger would do that.

Decision made, she halted to a stop and spun around, her chest rising and falling with every breath she took and her heart pounding in her ears.

“So much for being the big bad Death Eaters, I’ve faced first years more talented and challenging,” she taunted, ducking the two curses that were thrown her way as they continued to close the distance between them. “Sorry, did I say first years? That’s offensive to first years everywhere. I meant flobberworms, you’re useless. You couldn’t catch me without and you can’t catch me with it. _Pathetic_ ,” she laughed.

They halted in their approaching steps having slowed from their run and they glanced to one another, cruel smiles pulling at their mouths.

“I think it’s time we showed this _Mudblood_ where her place in the world is,” Lowel spoke, his eyes travelling her form before lifting to her face, a smirk pulling at his mouth.

“Yes, she needs to learn how to treat those that are superior to her fifthly blood. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“If she’s as filthy as her blood?” Lowel suggested.

“Yes, this is going to be fun,” Perce’s eyes lit with hunger, cruelness and promises of nightmares.

She watched as they arrogantly stowed their wands in their robes before they darted towards her. Hermione felt both relief and panic; she’d successfully gained their full attention but in doing so, she’d angered them into not just killing her, but making her suffer, first. Taking a breath, she slipped her wand up her sleeve and out of sight as she turned on her heel and darted away from them as quickly as possible.

They were quick to chase her, the gap between them growing smaller but she couldn’t stop running, she had to keep their attention and lead them away from the muggles until she was free to apparate. Whilst running her attention darted between ensuring she didn’t trip and stealing glances over her shoulder, but when she next did so, she crashed into something hard. She felt the breath being knocked out of her and she fell backwards towards the ground before hands gently encircled her upper arms and tugged her towards a chest.

Her head slowly lifted, her eyes meeting the softest and kindest hazel orbs she’d ever seen, barely managing to break their gaze so she might see their appearance. She’d collided with someone due to her distraction and she saw that it was a boy, a teenager, but he looked more like a man standing at a height of six-foot-one. The only indicator that he was younger than he appeared was his face, still boyish in some aspects.

His skin was russet in colour, his hair short and ruffled, dark like the night sky, the smile that pulled at his mouth, big and goofy looking, very adorable. Her eyes moved down to his large, broad shoulders and further down to his chiselled and very, _very_ muscled chest and stomach, he was shirtless, wearing only jeans cut off at the knees and a pair of trainers on his feet. Her eyes darted back up to his and she had to force down the blush threatening to stain her cheeks.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going,” she said as calmly as she could manage.

“It’s alright, I’m Seth,” his head cocked to the side and his smile widened.

“Hermione,” she muttered, twisting to look over her shoulder and seeing the Death Eaters quickly advancing on her.

“We’re going to enjoy this, Mudblood!” Perce called.

Hermione’s breath hitched, they were far too close for comfort.

“I’m so sorry, I have to go,” she spoke, drawing back from him but his grip remained strong but gentle.

He frowned, looking down at her torn clothing and the blood splotches. “Is that _blood_?”

“I have to go,” she repeated, tugging herself free from his tightening grip before she darted around him and down the beach, briefly noting the group he was with, all of the males having similar heights, muscled frames and appearances to Seth, also going shirtless. They all looked to be the same age, their bodies giving off the impression of men, but their faces, teenagers. Only one of them looked to be in his twenties. The women were all shorter and bundled up warm, they _did_ look like teenagers, except for the small child and the older woman.

The boys were all looking between her, Seth and the men that were chasing her curiously but she ignored them and pushed forward, her hair flying around her face after having falling out of the bobble, her breathing coming out in pants and her hand moving to her sleeve, preparing to draw her wand.

“We’re going to enjoy killing you!” Lowel taunted.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her chance to enter the woods and disappeared into the trees, pulling her wand and spinning on her heel. She landed two miles deep into the woods and she quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself before unsteadily climbing a tree, getting a good advantage point over her targets. They arrived a few minutes after she had.

“We know you’re here, Mudblood, we followed your signature, not very bright leaving yourself vulnerable like that,” Perce mocked. Hermione bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

“When we find you we’re going to have so much _fun_ ,” Lowel said, his eyes darting about in search of her.

“ _Petrificus Totalus_ ,” Hermione whispered, the spell leaving her wand and colliding with Perce’s chest. He never saw it coming and he dropped to the ground.

Lowel gripped his wand tightly.

“Looks like it’s just you and me, Mudblood. Now, I won’t have to share you, more fun for me.”

“ _Stupefy_ ,” she muttered.

Lowel cast a shield just in time and it rebounded and slammed into a tree.

“You’re going to have to try harder than that,” he sneered, his body tense, his eyes scanning the area.

“ _Immobulus_ ,” she cast.

He was able to avoid it and in doing so, he’d figured out which direction her spells were coming from.

“ _Bombarda Maximum_ ,” he sneered, his wand pointed at the tree and when the spell collided, the tree was blown to pieces.

Hermione gave a shriek as she fell approximately fifteen feet, not having time to cast a Cushioning Charm and hit the ground hard, landing on her back. She coughed, a pain shooting through her back and a dull ache throbbing in her skull. Her eyesight momentarily blurred and her ears rang from the noise of the explosion and in her daze, she failed to notice Lowel approaching her sprawled form.

“ _Finite Incantatem_ ,” he muttered, his wand pointing in the direction of her coughing and she felt a tingle wash over her, knowing the Disillusionment Charm had been removed. Lowel was advancing on her, licking his lips with an animalistic hunger in his eyes.

Before she could try to move or fight back, he had her wrists gripped tightly in his hands and pinned in place above her head and he was straddling her waist, his dead weight keeping her down.

“Now, this, Mudblood, is where you belong,” he sneered, his face inches from her, “Underneath your superiors. I bet you love that you’re going to be fucked by a real Pureblood. Did you fuck him? Weasley?” He spat “I bet you fucked Potter, too. Potter’s bitch, that what we called you.”

“Actually,” Hermione started, her eyesight and hearing returning and the pain in her head and back were starting to dull, adrenaline flooding her system and taking over. “I only slept with Ronald and what a mistake that was. And as for that name, is that before or after all your fellow Death Eaters were captured or killed in battle?” She asked sweetly, seeing the fury lighting his eyes, knowing she was pushing his buttons. “I never slept with Harry, he’s my brother in everything but blood, that’s disgusting, though an inbred like you, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve slept with your sister, she’s in Azkaban, isn’t she?” She said innocently, his grip on her tightening painfully and she held back a wince of pain. “But you should know that I never travel alone, I always have back up,” she lifted her head to look over his shoulder. “Harry, how lovely of you to finally show up,” she drawled lazily.

Lowel was quick to straighten up and he released her wrists as he twisted to look behind him. There was nothing there and in his distraction, Hermione reached out to grab her fallen wand.

“ _Flipendo_ ,” she spoke coldly, Lowel being blasted away from her until he slammed into a tree.

Hermione slowly climbed to her feet and gripped her wand in one hand, the other came up to touch the back of her head and when she pulled it to away to look at it, blood coated her fingers. Sighing, she wiped it on her jeans and she could’ve sworn she’d heard a growl, looking behind her in confusion before she saw the shadow of a spell and threw up a shield.

“You’re going to pay for that, Mudblood,” he warned.

“Get some new material, Lowel,” she rolled her eyes, “This Mudblood thing’s getting old, I’ve been called that every day since I was twelve, it doesn’t even register anymore. I take it as a compliment. I’d rather be a Muggleborn than an inbred that’s incompetent at the simplest of spells.”

He sneered before sending the Cruciatus Curse, she was forced to dodge the neon yellow light as a shield couldn’t and wouldn’t defend or protect her. When she hit the ground, catching herself on her hands, her eyes lit with fury and she narrowed them dangerously before rising to her feet. The very air around charged with magic, the atmosphere thickened with aggression and tension, and her hair grew wild with little lightning bolts sparking in and around the curls.

“That is the last time anyone will throw that curse at me,” Hermione promised, her tone cold and dark. 

“It’s a shame I missed the day of your capture, I was upset that I missed your torture sessions. Bellatrix was very talented with the Torture Curse, and from what I’ve heard, a knife, too.” Hermione flinched. “It’s a shame that I missed all your screams, and even more so that Greyback didn’t get to have his fun with you. No matter, no matter, I’ll finish what they started,” he sneered.

“ _Avada Ked_...”

“ _Sectumsempra_ ,” Hermione called, the curse hitting him square in the chest.

He stumbled back, his wand falling from his grip as he lowered his eyes to his torn white shirt beneath his opened robes, blood seeping through. He gave a startled laugh of disbelief before collapsing to the ground, sprawling on his back and bleeding out. Hermione slowly approached him, her wand carefully trained on him.

“Mudblood Hermione Granger, using dark magic...”

“It wasn’t dark magic,” she interrupted. “You were using dark magic, illegal magic, the curse that I used is legal but questionable, considered to be grey magic at best as it kills if not healed quickly enough. Using the Killing Curse is so predictable of you Death Eaters, it’s no wonder you lost the war. All you know is hatred and cruelty. You can thank Severus Snape for that curse, he’s the one that created it. _Petrificus_ _Totalus_ ,” she spoke, his body stiffening. 

“ _Organa Hirniosus_ ,” a voice hissed from behind her.

Hermione threw up a shield over her shoulder, the spell missing by millimetres.

“Perce,” Hermione sighed tiredly, seeing the spell had worn off and freed him.

“You’ll pay for that, Mudblood. _Sanguinem_!” He spat.

Hermione erected another, stronger shield, the curse skimming the side of the dome, catching Hermione’s left arm and creating a wound so deep the bone could be seen as blood poured. She turned her head, certain she’d heard a growl coming from somewhere behind her, but she saw nothing, nothing but trees. In her distraction, she was hit with another _Sanguinem_ , it catching both her right shin and calf. Her teeth sunk into her lip as a hiss slipped passed her lips, drawing blood.

She took a calming breath before tightening her grip on her wand and strengthening her outstretched wand arm. She was exhausted, hungry and injured and if she didn’t heal Lowel, he’d die. She swore she’d never take another life no matter the circumstances.

When Perce sent the _Avada_ , Hermione ducked long before and aimed her wand at an upwards angle. “ _Bombarda Maximum_ ,” she called, the spell hitting its target and the tree behind Perce exploded, large branches raining to the ground with one landing on Perce, its heavyweight pinning him to the floor.

She rose to her feet and approached him, limping in her steps with her injured leg, grateful that adrenaline was still flooding her system and dulling most of the pain.

“ _Incarcerous_ ,” she muttered, ropes flying from the tip of her wand and restraining him. “ _Wingardium Leviosa_ ,” she cast, the large tree branch lifting from him and lowering to the ground off to the right. After casting another _Incarcerous_ for good measure, she hit him with a _Levicorpus_ , Perce calling out profanities as he was lifted from the ground and dangled in the air by his ankles, with no way of escaping.

With Perce taken care of, Hermione turned her focus to Lowel, crouching down beside him to see his sickly pale colouring and him struggling to keep his eyes open.

“ _Vulnera Sanetur, Vulnera Sanetur, Vaulnera Sanetur_ ,” she chanted, her brow furrowed in concentration and her wand moving over his chest in complicated motions.

The bleeding slowly stopped and his skin knitted back together, leaving newly formed criss-cross scars. Taking a moment to breathe after the magically draining healing magic, Hermione soon levitated Lowel until he was propped up against the tree trunk and then she bound him to it with ropes. With him secure, she summoned a Blood Replenishing Potion from her tent, removed the stopper and poured it down Lowel’s throat, the colour soon returning to his face.

“You’re giving me a headache,” Hermione sighed in annoyance, rubbing her temples with her fingers before rising to full height, shooting a glare at Perce who had yet to stop yelling insults and obscenities. “ _Silencio_ ,” she muttered with a lazy flick of her wand and he was silenced immediately, his mouth still moving but no sound leaving, which only seemed to enrage him further.

Sending him an annoyed glance, she fished into her jean pocket and removed a galleon. After making two new D.A coins, it was how she and Harry communicated in cases of emergency or when a quick reply was needed.

 _Caught two Death Eaters. Perce and Lowel,_ she wrote.

She patiently waited, receiving a reply no more than a minute later.

_TWO! Are you alright?_

_Healer needed, co-ordinates coming,_ she replied, following it with her current coordinates to allow Harry and the Auror team to port-key directed to her.

Sighing tiredly, she slumped against a tree, her arm, leg and head yet to stop bleeding. Hearing a noise, she turned to look into the dark cluster of trees, believing to have seen a shadowed figure. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 14

**Tuesday 23rd May 2006**

Seth was having a great day; he'd gotten a B in his Math's class, everyone but Jacob and Leah were happy (but that wasn't anything new) and his mom was becoming fast friends with Chief Charlie Swan and he could see how happy she was and that she was finally healing after his father's death. And on top of that, he loved being a wolf and chasing vampires with his pack to protect his Tribe.

They were currently frequenting their favourite spot on First Beach, Sam and Emily, little Clair and Quil, and Kim and Jared were all lounging on the towels and blankets, talking and laughing between themselves. Jacob and his sister, Leah, were sat a little further away, perched on logs and silently glaring out at the sea, both dealing with their own issues. Meanwhile, he, Paul, Embry and the two youngest and newest members of the pack, Brady and Collin, were in the middle of a game of soccer.

They'd been laughing and calling insults to one another, play fighting and roughhousing when Seth's attention was suddenly caught by the most delightful scent he'd ever smelled, and took a deep inhale, – strawberries, vanilla... and was that smoke? Burnt flesh?

His eyes darted down the beach, trying to find the source of the smell and when he turned his head at just the right angle, his eyes landed on that of a figure running down the beach, possible seven hundred feet between them in distance. His eyesight was nowhere as good as Jared's and the most he could tell it was a girl but she'd have to get closer for him to see her face.

Much to his confusion, she halted to a sudden stop, almost falling before catching her balance and she turned to face the two figures that were chasing her before they stopped, too, some distance between them. His hearing, that was amazing; he had the best hearing out of all the pack, he could hear from at least two and a half miles away if he were able to concentrate hard enough, and because of them, he easily heard their words. He most certainly hadn't expected them to be British.

 _"I think it's time we showed this_ Mudblood _where her place in the world is," said a man's voice._

_"Yes, she needs to learn how to treat those that are superior to her fifthly blood. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"_

_"If she's as filthy as her blood?"_

_"Yes, this is going to be fun."_

He was confused by their words but it was clear the conversation wasn't a friendly one.

"Hey, Seth? What's wrong with you? You let it go straight past you," Embry called and Seth turned his gaze to him, seeing his arched eyebrow.

"What?" He said dumbly.

"The ball," Embry drew out the words, pointing behind Seth and to the soccer ball that was rolling down the beach towards the girl that was running towards him, being chased by the two men and she frequently looked over her shoulder.

"I'll get it," he spoke quickly, jogging over to the forgotten ball, approximately fifteen feet away from the rest of the pack.

Seth watched her carefully and when she darted a glance over her shoulder, she took his chance and deliberately took a step to the side, putting him right in her path. He wasn't sure why he'd done it but he didn't care when she suddenly crashed into him with an 'oomph' of surprise and her body tipped backwards. His arms, of their own accord, reached out to catch her fall, his hands gently encircling her upper arms as he tugged her close to him, holding her in place. Her scent swarmed him, filling his nose, his eyes closing and his head going dizzy at the euphoric feeling it produced. He sighed happily, purposely breathing in deeply before his eyes fluttered open, staring down at her.

She was _beautiful_.

Her long mahogany hair fell to her mid-back in wild, thick curls, an untameable and unmanageable mess but still beautiful. Her large, chocolate brown eyes looked up at him in surprise, framed by her thick and long eyelashes. Her small button nose was smattered with barely visible freckles, her pink, plump lips were parted slightly and small puffs of air left her, trying to catch her breath. Her ivory skin, at first sight, looked flawless, but he noticed an alarming scar on her throat, a thin line that travelled from one side to the other. He could feel her soft curves with her five-foot-six frame pressed up against him, average height for a woman but tiny when against him. She looked delicate and stunning. An Angel.

His entire world shifted, his chest swelled, his heartbeat picked up, his skin erupted into goosebumps and he shivered as he felt the softness of her cold hands grip his forearms to stop herself from falling. God! He would do anything for her, be anything for her, live for her, die for her. Her scent was overpowering, her beauty overwhelming and her touch electrifying. He couldn't live without it, without _her_.

She was his and he was hers, _forever_. He loved her. He would protect her.

Her eyes gave him a quick once over and he felt his already goofy grin widen in response when he saw a small tint of pink on her cheeks but she looked to be fighting it. Her captivating eyes darted back up to his, getting caught in his gaze.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," she spoke. His ears rang, her voice was soft and musical, her accent sending tingles down his spine.

"It's alright, I'm Seth," he cocked his head to the side and he smiled wide at her. Her breath hitched, he heard it as well as the slight skip in her heartbeat.

"Hermione," she muttered embarrassedly.

_Hermione! A beautiful name!_

She looked over her shoulder and he felt her stiffen against him, his eyes followed her gaze to the two men. They were wearing black graduation robes with a white shirt covered in dirt and grime and black slacks. Their hair looked ruffled, their eyes filled with promises of acts worthy of nightmares. He couldn't stop it; he gripped her tighter to him protectively.

 _"We're going to enjoy this, Mudblood!"_ One of them called nastily. Her breath hitched and he felt her pulling away from him.

"I'm so sorry, I have to go," she spoke, trying to wriggle from his hold but he couldn't let go.

Seth's eyes darted down, seeing the smudge of red on his skin. His eyes snapped to her, finally noticing her white woollen jumper covered in dirt, tears and blood, and the scrapes and bruises. He frowned deeply, feeling anger was over him, anger like he'd never felt before. It flooded his mind, his body.

"Is that _blood_?" He asked in alarm.

"I have to go," she repeated, forcefully pulling herself free before darting around him and down the beach, faster than he thought a human possibly could, and he eyes followed her path, widening in panic.

"She's my imprint," he muttered in disbelief to have her found, knowing how rare an occurrence it was and that three of his packmates had done so, too, it was practically impossible for so many wolves in one pack to have imprinted.

His packmates had heard his mutter, as he'd known they would, and they all straightened at the news, their eyes collectively following his imprint, even Leah and Jacob took time out of their self-pity to watch her.

"She's covered in blood," he whispered in horror.

Eyes darted between her, him and the two men chasing her. They smelt the blood and were witness to her alarmed but relieved expression as she ran past them with the men close on her tail.

" _We're going to enjoy killing you_!"

Seth couldn't explain what'd happened next. One moment his eyes were tracking her movement and the next, anger was flooding him, his blood boiled, his heart rate picked up and his entire body vibrated with the need to protect his imprint.

He heard the clothes rip from his body and looked down at himself, noticing the sandy coloured fur and realising that he'd phased out of anger. He'd _never_ done that before, not even when he'd phased for the first time and struggled to control it. Anger hadn't been his trigger unlike the rest of his packmates, he'd been different.

Thought after thought ran through his mind but only one counted. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her! With that thought, he leapt forward, jumping over his shocked packmates and taking off in the direction of his imprint, his paws hitting the sand with dull thuds.

"Emily, make sure everyone gets home safe," he briefly heard Sam order before more clothes were shredded and he heard the paws of other wolves thudding against the sand.

Everyone entered his mind, all following him but he ignored them.

 _'Seth, calm down,'_ his sister came up beside him. She was the fastest wolf in the pack, the most agile given her smaller size and being the only female. _'I'm sure they didn't mean it,' she tried to calm him._

 _'Didn't mean it? She was covered in_ fucking _blood and her clothes were torn,'_ he growled menacingly.

They all shrank back from the mind link and stumbled in their steps. Seth _never_ got angry. He was always the optimistic one, the happy, positive ray of sunshine that was sometimes annoying but they all appreciated it nevertheless. And he'd never cursed before in his life!

A loud crack echoed around them, being followed soon after but another two.

 _'Where'd they go?'_ Jared asked. _'They can't just disappear,'_ though it appeared they had.

Seth tuned out all the shouts and arguments of the pack over the disappearance and focused his hearing, focusing more than he ever had in his life. His eyes shut tightly and he controlled his breathing, relaxing it and allowing his feet to blindly carry him. _There_! He heard another crack, followed by two more, two miles west in the woods. He sprang forward, he was already over five hundred feet ahead of the pack when they realised he'd gone.

 _'You've found her?'_ Sam's voice asked him.

_'Two miles west, I can hear them talking, they're saying words I've never heard before, it's like another language,' he replied distractedly._

They continued running and they didn't stop but when they were half a mile away, a loud explosion rang through the woods, the ground shaking violently and birds squawking as they startled and flew off.

 _'What the fuck was that?'_ Paul asked. _'It felt like a fucking bomb.'_

Seth's concern only doubled as he pushed himself more than he ever had. _'Leah?'_ His voice rose.

 _'I'll get there,'_ she confirmed without needing him to clarify and she put on a burst of speed, pulling in front of him and disappearing into the trees.

 _'Leah won't let anything happen to her, Seth,'_ Jacob's thoughts flittered to him.

Seth knew it to be true. Leah was cold with the other wolves, but he was the exception as well as the new pups, Collin and Brady, and she was slowly warming to Jacob as she felt they were in similar situations. The others she didn't much care for being cheerful with. But she was his big sister and knowing what it meant to have an imprint, he knew his sister would protect her until he could do it himself.

 _'Leah?'_ Seth questioned, picking up the scent of his imprint.

_'I've found them, one of the men's on the floor, he looks to be unconscious, the other's walking around with a stick in his hand, he's looking for something.'_

_'Hermione, where's Hermione?'_

_'I can't see her but I can hear someone coughing and wheezing, I think she might be hurt.'_

_'WHAT!'_ He growled. Everyone winced. _'I can see you,'_ he said as he darted between trees, jumping over fallen tree branches and rotting logs before landing beside Leah, the other wolves surrounding them as they halted to a stop. They were out of sight, the sky was darkening making it easy for them to blend in with the woods, no one would know they were there.

They could see a fallen tree, branches and splintered wood littering the floor, the aftermath of an explosion.

 _'That explains the explosion we heard,'_ Embry offered.

Their eyes were drawn to the man walking around, they could hear coughing and suddenly the man's eyes gleamed with darkness. Seth felt his fur stand up on end at the look in his eyes; evil, pure evil.

" _Finite Incantatem_ ," he spoke, the stick in his hand pointing in the direction of the coughing.

Exclamations and splutters filled the mind link when she appeared out of nowhere, lying on the ground on her back and struggling to breathe. Seth lurched forward but he slammed against Sam and Jacob, the two largest wolves, one the Alpha, the other the True Alpha.

 _'Stay back, we don't know who we're dealing with, these people can disappear into thin air and reappear.'_ Sam warned him before he softened his voice. _'I know she's your imprint but we have to be careful, we'll watch and see what happens before we're forced to intervene, we won't let him hurt her.'_

A growl of fury rumbled in his chest but he couldn't get past them without a fight and he knew he didn't have strength or size on his side, so he silently seethed with his eyes locked firmly on his injured imprint. The man was advancing on her, licking his lips with an animalistic hunger in his eyes.

He pounced on her, pinning her wrists to the ground above her head, straddling her waist as she struggled under his dead weight.

Seth growled.

 _'Not yet, Seth,'_ Leah spoke quietly.

"Now, this, Mudblood, is where you belong," he sneered at her with his face inches from hers. "Underneath your superiors. I bet you love that you're going to be fucked by a real Pureblood. Did you fuck him? Weasley? I bet you fucked Potter, too. Potter's bitch, that what we called you."

"Actually," his imprint spoke, her voice calm and collected with this a distinct coolness to it. How could she be so calm when it was obvious what _he_ planned to do to her? His own form vibrated with barely restrained rage. "I only slept with Ronald and what a mistake that was. And as for that name, is that before or after all your fellow Death Eaters were captured or killed in battle?" She asked sweetly, them all witnessing the anger that crossed his face as she very clearly found a way to get under his skin. "I never slept with Harry, he's my brother in everything but blood, that's disgusting, though an inbred like you, I wouldn't be surprised if you've slept with your sister, she's in Azkaban, isn't she?"But you should know that I never travel alone, I always have back up," she lifted her head to look over his shoulder. "Harry, how lovely of you to finally show up," she drawled and they all followed her line of sight.

 _'There's no one there,'_ Quil commented in confusion.

_'That's the point,' Leah sighed. 'Idiots!'_

The man quickly sat up and released her wrists, twisting to look behind him and she took advantage of his distraction.

" _Flipendo_ ," she spoke the strange word coldly, watching in surprise as he was blasted away from her, slamming into a tree.

His imprint slowly climbed to her feet, gripping the wooden stick in one hand and the other came up to touch the back of her head, drawing it back to reveal that blood coated her fingers. A growl of fury ripped from his throat, her eyes suddenly darting in their direction and distracting as a beam of light headed for her. Thankfully, she saw it.

" _Protego_ ," she called and a small blue shield appeared before her, the beam of light hitting the shield and it rebounded, slamming into a tree and setting it ablaze with wild, hot flames. They all stared, their mouths parted and eyes wide.

"You're going to pay for that, Mudblood!" The oddly dressed man spat furiously.

"Get some new material, Lowel, this Mudblood thing's getting old, I've been called that every day since I was twelve, it doesn't even register anymore. I take it as a compliment. I'd rather be a Muggleborn than an inbred that's incompetent at the simplest of spells."

 _'Spells? As in magic?_ Magic _! It's fucking real?'_

_'Shut up, Paul!'_

He sneered, " _Crucio_ ," an expression of terror filling her features when the neon yellow light headed straight for her. Whilst they didn't know what it was or what it would do, they weren't entirely sure they wanted to know giving her expression. Seth wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, possibly for her to say a word that might form another shield as he'd previously seen, but she didn't, rather, she dived for the ground. When he caught herself on her hands, her eyes darkened in rage as they narrowed and she slowly climbed to her feet. The very air around them charged with something powerful and electrifying, growing tense and aggressive, forcing shivers down their spines and their fur standing on end. More surprisingly, his imprint's hair appeared wilder than before, little golden sparks firing from her curls and raining to the ground. Her soft features hardened in determination and rage.

She looked beautiful.

"That is the last time anyone will ever throw that curse at me," Hermione spoke, her voice promising pain and suffering, surprising them all. She was so tiny and innocent-looking, how did a voice such as that come from her?

"It's a shame I missed the day of your capture, I was upset that I missed your torture sessions."

 _'Torture, she was tortured? I'm gonna kill him,'_ Seth snarled, taking a step forward.

 _'Not yet!'_ Sam barked in warning, his larger body blocking his path.

"Bellatrix was very talented with The Torture Curse, and from what I've heard, a knife, too," h taunted and she visibly flinched. "It's a shame that I missed all your screams, and even more so that Greyback didn't get to have his fun with you. No matter, no matter, I'll finish what they started," he sneered.

" _Avada Ked_..." The man started but his imprint was faster and whatever she was going to do, he suspected it wouldn't be pleasant giving her grim expression.

" _Sectumsempra_ ," she yelled, the beam of light hitting square in his chest, the wooden stick falling from his grasp as he stumbled backwards, a laugh of disbelief falling from him as blood seeped through his torn white shirt before he hit the ground.

 _'What the bloody fuck was that?'_ Quil whispered, horrified

"Mudblood Hermione Granger, using dark magic..."

"It wasn't dark magic," she interrupted. "You were using dark magic, illegal magic, the curse that I used is legal but questionable, considered to be grey magic at best as it kills if not healed quickly enough. Using the Killing Curse is so predictable of you Death Eaters, it's no wonder you lost the war."

 _'War? What war?'_ Jacob mused.

"All you know is hatred and cruelty. You can thank Severus Snape for that curse, he's the one that created it. _Petrificus_ _Totalus_ ," she muttered, her wand aimed at him and his body visibly stiffening as if he were a statue.

His imprint sighed in relief and he did, too, a large puff of air forming a cloud as it left his mouth. She was out of danger now. _What_ ever she was, he didn't care, she was still his imprint and he'd love her no matter what.

" _Organa Hirniosus_ ," a voice hissed suddenly, the wolves' heads snapping up at the sound and noticing the second man, also holding a stick and no longer being unconscious.

" _Protego Totalum_ ," Hermione muttered, this shield was so much bigger, so much brighter, more powerful, he thought.

Where the other shield had been blue and almost transparent, this one was blue-silver and it shimmered as it covered the entirety of her body. He'd come to understand that she was using magic and spells, so whatever magic the man had used, frightened her enough that she was using more powerful magic. The beam of purple light missed her by millimetres.

"Perce," Hermione sighed tiredly, seeing the spell had worn off and freed him.

"You'll pay for that, Mudblood. _Sanguinem_!" He spat.

Hermione erected another shield, the red light skimming the side of the dome, catching Hermione's left arm and creating a wound so deep the bone could be seen as blood poured. Sam snarled in fury, and his imprint heard it, her head turning towards his hidden positioning, being covered by the cover of the trees and the darkness setting around them.

" _Sanguinem_ ," the man hissed, his imprint being hit in the right leg in her distraction, a hiss of pain slipping past her lips.

 _'Seth, she's getting hurt, you're distracting her. Whatever's happening, whoever these people are, we can't intervene; they're well out of our jurisdiction and there's no way we can help her. You have to wait, she seems to be capable of whatever it is she is doing,'_ Sam spoke.

She bit her lip, drawing blood before taking a deep breath and lifting the stick. They could see she was tiring and with the blood loss, that was understandable.

" _Avada Kedavra_ ," the man hissed, a terrifying beam of neon green light leaving the stick but his imprint seemed to have expected it as she effortlessly dropped to the ground before he'd even finished speaking the strange words.

" _Bombarda Maximum_ ," she called, a white beam of light hitting a tree behind him and it exploded, large pieces and splintered wood raining to the ground and a large tree branch pinning the man to the ground under its heavyweight.

His imprint silently stood and approached him, wobbling slightly as she struggled to remain upright with her injured leg.

" _Incarcerous_ ," she spoke and to their amazement, ropes flew out of her stick and wrapped themselves around him. She followed with a " _Wingardium Leviosa_ ," the heavy tree branch lifting from him and lowering to the ground off to the right. After casting another _Incarcerous_ hit him with a " _Levicorpus_ ," the man calling out profanities as he was lifted from the ground and dangled in the air by his ankles, with no way of escaping.

"I'm going to get you for this you filthy Mudblood!"

"Whatever," she said emotionlessly before turning her focus to the other man, approaching him and crouching beside his pale form.

 _'What's she gonna do to him?'_ Brady asked, his large form shaking, in fear or excitement was anyone's guess.

 _'I don't know, do I?'_ Paul mumbled in annoyance.

" _Vulnera Sanetur, Vulnera Sanetur, Vaulnera Sanetur_ ," she chanted, her brow furrowed in concentration and her wand moving over his chest in complicated motions.

" _Mobilicorpus_ ," she spoke, the man's body lifting off the ground and being propped up against a tree. When she muttered " _Divesto_ ," his shirt disappeared, clearly revealing the damage she'd caused and it was amazingly terrifying. His entire chest was covered in deep lacerations, in the markings of crosses and blood seeped from the wounds. If he didn't receive medical attention, he'd die. That was obvious.

" _Vulnera Sanetur, Vulnera Sanetur, Vaulnera Sanetur_ ," she chanted, her wooden stick moving over his chest in complicated motions as her brow furrowed in concentration. They stared in surprise as the bleeding slowly stopped and his skin knitted back together, the wounds closing up to reveal red, angry scars. " _Tergeo_ ," she said, the blood being siphoned from his chest. She then waved her wand and they watched a small bottle of red liquid appear out of nowhere, floating in the air before her face and she reached for it, removing the stopper. "Blood Replenishing Potion," she spoke emotionlessly, pouring it down the man's throat, the colour slowly returning to him but his exhaustion was evident.

"You and your filthy blood aren't going to know what's hit you. If one falls, another shall take their place. There will always be those loyal to the Dark Lord to carry on his cause," the man hanging by his ankles spat.

"You're giving me a headache," Hermione sighed, rubbing at her temples before rising to her feet and levelling him with an annoyed glare. " _Silencio_ ," she called. They were surprised when he suddenly went quiet but his mouth continued to move, no sound leaving.

 _'That's handy,'_ Leah muttered. _'At least she won, she can handle herself,'_ she said, a hint of surprise and pride in her tone, causing the other wolves to do a double-take in her direction.

His imprint removed a strange-looking coin from her pocket and held her stick against it, scrutinising it thoughtfully before it visibly vibrated in her palm, turning a glowing red. She aimed her wand at it once more, it soon vibrating and glowing red before she slipped it back into her pocket. She slumped against a tree, her arm, leg and head still bleeding. Seth could smell it and it was making him angry and anxious. A growl rumbled in his chest and he shifted his weight, his paw snapping a twig in half. She looked straight at them but they were well hidden, blending into their surroundings and the darkness but her attention was soon drawn.

"Why did you heal me? You should've let me die," the man tied to a tree spoke tiredly, struggling to keep his eyes open.

His beautiful and injured imprint looked to him thoughtfully.

"Unlike you, I don't kill for fun. I'm a soldier of the Light, our job is to protect and defend, _not_ to kill. Killing is not our priority, we don't go into battle to kill but to incapacitate and capture. We never resort to dark magic and only a few of us use grey magic as we've studied it and we understand it. We know how to use it and how to reverse it. Too many have died because of the war, and if you died, you escape justice. There's a cushy cell in Azkaban with your name on, the dementors will love a new inmate."

The man visibly shivered, his expression filling with fear. Seth concluded that whatever Azkaban was, he was terrified of it.

"There's more of us, we're not the only ones and they'll come for you."

Seth growled at the threat.

 _'Cut it out, I'm trying to listen,'_ Leah grumbled through the mind link, briefly turning her head to spear him with an annoyed glance.

"I know," she sighed tiredly, reaching up to brush her wild her out of her face and over her shoulder. "I'm Undesirable Number Two, I've been receiving death threats since the end of the war. I'm one of the best-known Cloakers, do you honestly believe I didn't know you were following me?"

 _'What's a Cloaker?'_ Collin's confused voice asked.

 _'Shhh,'_ was chorused down the mind link.

"It was a trap, you _wanted_ us to follow you," he stated knowingly, recognition lighting his dark eyes.

His imprint's mouth twitched, her eyes alight with victory. "Yes, I did. I _deliberately_ left a trail, I _deliberately_ appeared in public, I _deliberately_ took photographs with others and completed interviews. I _deliberately_ used magical travel and I _deliberately_ used my name. I hate being in the spotlight, I hate the fame that surrounds me but I've finally found an appropriate use for it."

 _'She's famous?'_ Embry thought. _'I've never seen or heard of her before,'_ he mused.

 _'It's obvious she's not from around here, their accents, they're British,'_ Leah rolled her eyes.

"By our count, there's only fifteen fugitive Death Eaters remaining, that we know of at least, but now that I've caught you and Perce, it leaves us at thirteen. Three others have fallen for my trap, hopefully, the rest of the Death Eaters are just as blinded by hatred and vengeance and they miss my intentions. The fewer Death Eaters in the world, the better."

"You still should've killed me," he muttered.

"I've killed..."

They all stared at each other shocked. She was so small, she looked so fragile and innocent, but she didn't fight like she was. She was a soldier, she'd used that term before, she was a soldier of war. That, at the very least, they understood.

_'She's killed before?'_

"... Death Eaters, werewolves and acromantulas, I've destroyed vampires..."

 _'Vampires?'_ Jared spluttered. _"She knows they exist?"_

 _'And she's killed them before? I like this chick,'_ Paul thought amusedly.

 _'Shut up,'_ Seth growled at him.

"... And dementors. I helped to take down a fully grown giant, one of the darkest wizards to exist and pieces of a psychopath's soul. I've taken many lives in the war and I swore to never take another life again, even if I die myself."

He couldn't stop the growl and he grunted when both Jared and Embry nudged him harshly to get him to calm down.

They heard noises, groans of pain, shifting and the ground being disturbed. They searched their surroundings but couldn't see anything and that's when his imprint laughed softly, shaking her head fondly.

"You alright, Harry?" She called.

"I'm good," a voice groaned in response.

"Hermione."

They all saw a tall, dark-skinned man step out from behind a cluster of trees. He was bald and had dark eyes, he wore burgundy graduation robes and carried a wooded stick like the others had. He was followed by two men, younger, both with brown hair and dark eyes but they wore fastened, grey graduation robes with a large golden 'M' emblazed on the breast pocket. The final man was the youngest, he had black messy hair, green eyes, glasses that were askew on his face and reached up to right them. He had a strange lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead and he removed some leaves and twigs from his hair. He also wore grey graduation robes with the emblazed with the golden 'M' but he wore his open.

"Minister," she greeted with a polite, friendly smile.

"Hermione, we were been friends long before I was made Minister, we fought in battle together," the man chuckled.

"Sorry, Kingsley, I'm still getting used to it."

"Hermione?"

"Harry," she smiled at the black-haired boy as he approached her, immediately taking her in his arms and hugging her, drawing back from her quickly when she winced in pain.

Seth felt anger rush through him.

 _'Calm down, Seth,'_ his sister sighed.

"Healer, now!" The boy identified as Harry bellowed.

A small woman with blond hair tied back low at the back of her neck, green eyes and sporting lime-green hospital scrubs with white graduation robes rushed over to his imprint. She waved her wooden stick over her form, muttering in a different language and they watched as his imprint glowed different colours before the woman he'd deducted was a doctor of sorts, removed little bottles from a black medical bag and give them to his imprint. Whilst she drank the contents, the woman muttered under her breath and they watched as bandages flew out of her wooden stick and wrapped around the wounds.

"Lowel will need a healer, I used _Sectumsempra_ on him. I healed him the best I could afterwards and gave him a Blood Replenishing Potion," said his imprint.

The second man, he guessed was also a doctor, had brown hair and blue eyes, was quite tall and wearing the same clothing as the woman, crossed to the man in question, crouching down before him and tending to him.

"Your lacerations were deep, I've started treatment but you'll have to apply salve to them every four hours. I suspect it will take twenty-four hours for the wounds to seal and correctly heal, you'll have to change the bandages every few hours. Your head wound doesn't appear to be serious but if you have headaches you must go to a hospital."

Seth sighed in relief at the news that his imprint wasn't too badly injured.

"You did a good job in healing him, Miss. Granger," the man complimented.

She shrugged casually. "I've gotten quite good at counter curses over the years," she replied.

"I'm sure you have," he said, giving her a look that spoke volumes.

Five minutes later, the two men Seth felt the need to kill, were restrained and their sticks were held by the black-haired man.

"Ronan Lowel, Peter Perce, you are under arrest for sympathizing with and supporting the cause of Voldemort," Harry spoke, his eyes narrowed hatefully.

 _'Who the fuck's Voldemort?'_ Paul laughed at the name.

_'Shut up!'_

"For participating in revels in which numerous muggles were sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered, for the murders of sixteen witches and wizards each, for the use of dark magic, for the use of the Unforgivables and for the stalking and assault of Hermione Granger, Order of Merlin: First Class recipient. You will be escorted to a Ministry holding cell before you are transferred to Azkaban pending a trial for your crimes. Auror Baker, Auror Wells, they are ready for transportation."

The two men in grey graduation robes nodded before taking something out of a pocket and they disappeared from view with the two restrained men, being followed by the doctors.

 _'Fucking hell, they just disappeared into thin air,'_ Jared whispered.

"Good work, Hermione, I have no doubt I'll see you again soon. You've caught five Death Eaters alone, that's impressive," the man with burgundy robes praised. .

"It's nothing," she muttered, ducking her head embarrassedly. He chuckled before saying goodbye and he, too, disappeared into thin air.

"Are you sure you're alright? You were putting on a brave face for the others but I _know_ you," the black-haired boy spoke, his green eyes filled with concern. "I know you better than anyone and I know when you're lying."

"I'm fine, Harry," she promised, offering him a small smile. "I've had worse injuries than this and survived."

"I know," he grimaced.

 _'What does that mean?'_ Seth growled, moving forward but he was pushed back by Embry and Quil, the two elder wolves barely glancing at him.

"Have you caught anymore Death Eaters?"

"Two, Avery and McNair," he nodded.

She winced. "Nasty pieces of work those two," she shivered and Harry seemed to agree. "That brings us down to eleven Death Eaters left to capture."

"And the world will be safe; the war will be behind us."

"No, Harry, the war will _never_ be forgotten," her tone saddened. "We'll always remember the sacrifices that were made and the lives that were taken. There will always be dark witches and wizards but with people like you protecting the world, we'll hopefully never see another war again."

 _'Witches and wizards? They exist? She's a witch?_ Jared piped up. _'That's actually kind of... Awesome.'_

"And you, Hermione, you were a big part of winning the war, I couldn't have gotten through it without you. You were the only thing that kept me going," he said, his tone filled with gratitude and fondness.

"We're family, Harry," she smiled.

"Yes, we are," he agreed. "I better get back to London."

"I'll send you my report of what happened."

"You should think about doing this for a living, becoming a full-time Auror. You could be my partner, we'd be the best Auror team the Wizarding World's seen," he grinned.

She laughed. "We would be," she nodded in agreement, "But I can't. I've had enough fighting and battling for my life. I'm only doing this until the Death Eaters have been captured and then we'll see what the future holds."

"I'll see you later, Hermione. I've taken Saturday off from work, I'll port-key over and we'll spend the day together, and you should expect an owl from the twins, they miss you."

"I miss them, too, give them my love," she replied, accepting his hug.

"Before I forget, I brought you this," he said, removing a small box that sat in the palm of his hand.

"Is this what I think it is?" She questioned, her mouth pulling into an eager smile, her eyes gleaming and her body all but vibrating in excitement.

"Honeydukes finest," he grinned, passing it to her before he disappeared from view, too.

The moment he left, she sighed and slumped against the tree, taking a breath before she gripped the stick in her hand and then spun on her heel. She was gone with a crack.

_'Where is she? She's still hurt, I have to find her!'_

Before anyone could stop him he lunged forward, jumping over a fallen tree and landing with a heavy thud, he sniffed the ground with purpose before picking up her scent and he followed it, running forward, also straining his hearing, trying to pick up on her melodious voice.

_'Seth, wait!'_

He didn't but he knew they were following him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 9

**Tuesday 23rd May 2006**

_‘Seth, slow down; she could be anywhere, you’ll never find her,’_ Embry spoke.

 _‘No, I can smell her, she’s been here before, her scent’s all over the place,’_ he replied, ignoring their continued comments and he ran through the woods in search of her. _‘I can hear something, it sounds like a kettle whistling,’_ he thought absentmindedly, east, about a mile away.

 _‘Jared, can you see anything?’_ Sam asked.

_‘Not yet, it’s like there’s something blocking my view, I’ll have to get closer.’_

They continued running, Seth didn’t slow down and neither did the other wolves following behind him.

 _‘I think I’ve got something,’_ Jared piped up.

 _‘You_ think _?’_

_‘It’s strange, half a mile from us, I can see a shape, it’s distorted, blurry, as if I’m wearing prescription glasses I don’t even need.’_

_‘It could be her,’_ Jacob injected. _‘She said she was a Cloaker, right? What if that’s like a way to hide yourself? To stay off the radar?’_

 _‘We’ll continue in this direction,’_ Sam decided.

 _‘It’s her!’_ Seth thought relieved. _‘I can smell her, I can hear her, she’s muttering under her breath, berating herself, something about muggles and bloody asshole Death Eaters.’_ Paul snorted over the mind link. _‘Her words, not mine,’ Seth added._

_As they neared, they all suddenly barrelled into something hard, bouncing off and skidding across the floor._

_‘What the...’_

_‘What the hell was that? Why can’t we move forward?’_ Embry asked confused.

Their eyes flickered to the left where they saw a small white tent in a clearing of trees but when they tried to approach, they couldn’t.

“You can’t get through as I’ve erected a barrier around my home for protection.”

Their heads snapped back towards the tent at the sound of the soft, British accent, seeing Hermione now being stood before it. She hadn’t changed her clothing yet, they were still bloody and torn, dried blood stuck to her skin and she had twigs and leaves buried in her wild hair but Seth still thought she was beautiful.

The others all heard his thoughts and sniggered.

Sam’s eyes narrowed suspiciously and she held her hands up in surrender. 

“I can’t read your thoughts. Your confused expressions more than speak for you. This wasn’t how I expected to meet you, at least so soon,” she confessed. “I gather you witnessed my little display?” She questioned, not being surprised when they nodded as one, quite comical, really. “Everything?”

They nodded once more, being unsure if they should think she was very clever or very weird for speaking to a pack of wolves. She must’ve known but she couldn’t, it was a well-kept secret, most of their parents didn’t even know!

“I know you’re shape-shifters,” she admitted. Sam’s eyes narrowed further. “I knew _before_ I arrived here, and I suspect you are wanting answers. Stand back, I’ll take down my wards so that you may step through,” she told them but no one moved, they remained still. “Fine, get blown up, see if I care,” she shrugged, her mouth twitching into a smile when they all immediately put distance between them.

They watched with titled heads as a look of concentration filled her face, her eyes narrowed and her brow creased as she waved the wooden stick in her hand in slow, deliberate movements before slipping it beneath her sleeve.

“You may step through now,” she informed them, turning and heading for the tent. “I need to change, I’ll be back in a minute,” she called over her shoulder.

The wolves all shared glances, deciding whether or not they should trust her.

Seth was the first to make for the barrier.

 _‘What’re you doing? It could be a trap,’_ Sam snapped. 

_‘I trust her, she’s my imprint. If she wanted to hurt us she could’ve done so already. She_ knew _we were here and she said she’ll talk to us. Don’t you want to know how she knows about us?’_ He replied.

 _‘He’s got a point,’_ agreed Jared, the second in command.

Seth approached the tent, taking a seat and waiting for her to return, looking behind him to see his packmates hesitantly stepping forward, visibly relaxing when they weren’t injured and they made their way over to him, standing in a defensive stance. When Hermione returned moments later, her wild hair was pulled up on top of her head, she had white converse covering her feet and she wore grey sweatpants with the matching hooded jacket and a white tank top beneath. 

_‘I’ve never seen a girl wear those in public before,’_ Paul snorted, tipping his head slightly and appreciating the tight-fitting around the ankles, legs and ass.

Seth sent him a growl of warning with Hermione arching a questioning eyebrow but she otherwise didn’t comment. Silently, she stepped around Seth and his packmates and crossed over to the firepit, a pile of wood surrounding by rocks. They cautiously followed her, Seth more enthusiastically.

“Stand back, I don’t want to accidentally set you on fire,” she told them, their eyes widening but doing as she’d instructed. 

Hermione waved her wooden stick and muttered under her breath and suddenly the wood burst into flames. They reeled back in surprise, Seth’s eyes widened in awe, and with a second flick of her wrist, flames flared bigger and hotter.

“Now that I won’t freeze my arse off, we can start. Is someone going to change? I can’t exactly communicate with you all staring at me like that, can I? Not to mention, it’s kind of creepy. I do have the ability to force myself into your minds but I don’t think you’d like that, and to be perfectly honest with you, I don’t want to have to do it as it gives me a monstrous headache.”

 _‘I’ll do it,’_ Seth spoke excitedly.

 _‘No, I’ll do it,’_ Sam’s deep voice rang through the mind link. He stared at Seth until he bowed his head in submission and Sam walked off towards the trees, ducking behind them.

“The scary one, it is,” Hermione muttered.

Paul snorted. _‘I like her.’_

Seth growled at Paul once more and Hermione looked between them before shaking her head, her focus being drawn when Sam returned dressed in jeans and trainers moments later.

“Are you not cold?” She questioned with a frown of concern. “I can get you a blanket if you need one.”

“No.”

Seth growled at him for his less than friendly tone and Sam sighed, knowing that no matter what, she was an imprint and he had to be respectful.

“No, thank you,” he corrected, his tone polite. “The cold doesn’t bother me,” he explained.

She looked as though she didn’t quite believe him but didn’t comment on the matter further, simply giving a nod of her head.

“Please sit down, my neck’s hurting looking up at you.”

Sam acquiesced her, taking a seat on the ground and on the opposite side of the fire, his dark eyes watched her apprehensively, a crease in his forehead and his body rigid.

“I’m not going to hurt you, _any_ of you, I promise.”

“Excuse me, if I don’t take your word for it, we saw the kind of damage you can do,” he replied.

A thoughtful look crossed her face before she removed the wooden stick from beneath her sleeve and held it up. Sam flinched.

“I, Hermione Jean Granger, Order of Merlin: First Class recipient and esteemed member of the Order of the Phoenix, hereby swear on my blood and magic, to not cause any harm to the Quileute Tribe or their shape-shifting protectors.”

A golden glow surrounded her, slowly growing brighter until they were all forced to close their eyes and when they felt it dimming, they opened their eyes to the sight of Hermione gasping out a breath, her head bowing forward and her hand clutching at the fabric of her clothing above her heart.

“What was that?” His Alpha asked suspiciously.

“ _That_ was an Unbreakable Vow,” she breathed out. “It’s a form of magic, a contract if you will and if I go against what the stated terms and harm any member of your pack or Tribe, I will die. If I do anything that the contract deems the breaking of its terms, I will lose my life as payment. It’s a serious bit of magic, one that shouldn’t be messed with, but I felt it necessary. You will never truth me, otherwise. Also, take my wand,” she held the wooden stick out towards him. “If you don’t trust me, take my wand. I am defenceless without it, just another human, but please, be careful with it,” she pleaded and hesitantly, Sam reached out and took it from her, putting it behind him on the ground and out of her reach. He seemed to relax and so did the rest of the pack.

“You were at the beach,” she cocked her head and her eyes darted between the rest of the pack curiously. “I’m assuming you’re the Alpha and the remainder of your pack are males, that wolf, however,” she gestured to Leah with a tip of her head, “The one with grey fur, she’s female.”

“How d’you know that?” Sam eyed her cautiously.

“She’s smaller than you, not only in size but in weight, too. She’s the fastest, isn’t she, the most agile? And those two, the dark ashy-brown wolf and the reddish-brown one, they’re younger than you all, pups, I can tell by their size but also by their auras.”

“They’re what?” Sam’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Their auras,” she shrugged casually, crossing her legs and clasping her hands together, resting her elbows on her thighs. “I can feel it surrounding them, kind of like how you feel you can sense the way someone’s feeling based on their body language or facial expressions, or simply by _knowing_ them. l can feel they’re nervous around me, they’re nervous to be in this situation and they’re hiding in-between two of your pack members; it’s they’re natural instinct, they haven’t been shifters long. It’s how I knew you were here, I could _feel_ you breaching my protective wards.” She held her hand out over the top of the flames in the firepit, her palm facing up and he looked between her and her hand questioningly. “Touch my hand; you’ll see what I mean.”

Sam looked over to him for permission and Seth nodded before approaching. His imprint watched him carefully, apprehensively, and that’s when he realised she was putting on a show of bravery. Understandably, she was afraid to be surrounded by a pack of eight-foot-tall wolves. She was scared and defenceless; she’d given up her wand, her only protection and he felt his heart swell at the trust she had in him.

He dropped to the ground on his stomach and slowly crawled over to her, she seemed to relax at the action and he didn’t stop until his cold nose reached out to touch her hand, feeling his entire body humming and he let out a deep breath, his body sagging in happiness. His lifted his gaze to Sam and nodded, the Alpha cautiously reaching out and touching her palm with the pad of his index finger.

“It feels strange,” he commented. “It’s like my body’s... Vibrating,” he pulled his hand back.

“Yes, that’s what I felt when you were approximately two hundred feet away. That’s how I know you’re shape-shifters.”

“That doesn’t explain how you knew we existed, why you’re here _or_ what we witnessed.”

“I know and I will explain but it’s a long story. Very complicated, very traumatising and very graphic so you’ll have to bear with me. So, first of all, I’m Hermione Granger and I’m a witch,” she heard sniggers and looked over to the pack. “I know what you’re thinking; witches should be green and hideous with warts and fly around on brooms. No, witches aren’t green, we aren’t hideous, most of us anyway,” she shivered and Paul, Jared and Embry barked out a laugh of amusement whilst Seth kept his focus on her, his eyes never leaving her face with her skin glowing in the firelight.

_‘Seth, enjoying the view?’_

_‘Shut up!’_ He growled, more barks of amusement sounding.

“We do fly on brooms though, I, however, never had the talent or patience to learn, I hated it and still do. Anyway, my point is witches and wizards exist, as do unicorns, werewolves, vampires, giants, trolls, ogres, ghosts, mermaids, pegasi, centaurs, giant spiders and snakes, fairies, pixies, dragons, elves, goblins....”

 _‘Is she being serious?’_ Jared snorted.

 _‘Yes!’_ Seth growled.

“Why don’t we see them?” Sam asked.

“You’re not allowed to. We have to keep ourselves hidden for our own protection. We have our own magical communities and towns and villages, all hidden in plain sight. Due to the Witch Trials, magic was wiped from existence and we went into hiding so we could protect our community. Far too many people died during those times and most of them were actually non-magicals, and since we don’t want a repeat of history, we remain hidden. We just want to live our lives in peace.”

“Okay,” his alpha nodded slowly, thoughtfully. “Then did we witness? Who were those guys and why were they trying to kill you?”

His imprint sighed tiredly and her hands came to up to rubs at her eyes. He felt the need to comfort her so he moved closer, his nose gently nudging her leg to alert her to his presence. When she lowered her hands to gaze at him, he nuzzled himself against her hand, her eyes darting to Sam questioningly who shrugged in response, trying to keep his expression blank but his mouth twitched in amusement whilst laughter and teasing ran through the mind link.

She cautiously lifted her hand and set it at the back of his neck, her fingers carding through his soft, thick fur. A purr-like nose of happiness rumbled in his chest and he set his head in her lap, it being so big he covered both of her legs. She silently scratched behind his ears, his tongue falling out of his mouth comically as her nails raked against his skin and sent a shiver down his spine. The pack’s laughter grew louder but he blocked them out; he was in paradise.

Hermione lifted her gaze back to Sam before saying, “What you have to understand is that there’s prejudice in any world, including the Wizarding World. You can’t escape it; there will always be people who think they’re better than you.”

“Those guys that you were fighting, they said they were your superiors,” Sam’s brow furrowed slightly.

“They’re not,” her voice took a chilly tone, surprising them. Up until that point, she’d been polite and friendly. “They’re just inbred arseholes who’re now going to spend the rest of their lives in prison. The only way you’re going to understand is if I explain this to you in laymen’s terms.”

“We’re listening,” Sam prompted.

“So, there are four blood classifications and before I forget, Muggles are non-magical humans.” Sam nodded slowly and Seth opened his eyes, noticing that the rest of the pack had moved closer and taken seats. “Now, Squibs are children born to magical parents but they don’t possess magic themselves and they usually live their lives as muggles, in this world. Muggleborns, they are witches or wizards that are born from Muggles. I am a Muggleborn, seeing as I was born with my magic but neither of my parents possessed it, I’m the first magic user of my bloodline. Half-bloods are witches and wizards that have either two magical parents depending on ancestry, or one magical and one muggle parent. And finally, Purebloods, which are witches and wizards that are born to a magical line in which has no muggle ancestry, solely magical.”

“How’s that possible?” He frowned in confusion.

“Simple, inbreeding,” she shrugged. Sam looked disgusted.

 _‘That’s fucking gross man,’_ Paul thought and Seth snorted at him.

“The majority Purebloods prided themselves on having no Muggle lineage, cousins married cousins, uncles married nieces, nephews married aunts and as a result, every Pureblood family is related in some fashion. Most Pureblood families are also very wealthy and hold titles of aristocracy.”

 _‘I actually feel ill,’_ Jared muttered.

“Why do they think they’re better than you?”

“Blood supremacy,” she sighed. “Of course, not every Pureblood family held these beliefs but the majority did. They were of the belief that anything less than Pureblood was vermin, abominations. Half-bloods were tolerated as they have some magical ancestry but Muggleborns such as myself were hated. Given the differing of opinions, war broke out and essentially split the Wizarding World into two sides. Seventeen years ago, there was this wizard, Lord Voldemort, and he was the darkest wizard to ever exist. He wanted a Pureblood only utopia, Half-bloods would be made slaves and Muggleborns, Muggles and Squibs would be slaughtered, exterminated. He was committing genocide. He was the magical version of Adolph Hitler. He killed a lot of people along with his followers, Death Eaters, which Perce and Lowel were.”

“Voldemort discovered the existence of a prophecy that detailed his downfall by the hand of a child born in July, and as a result, he killed all children born the month of July. Halloween of 1987, he found the child. Harry Potter and his parents went into hiding and they were placed in a safe house under a powerful form of cloaking magic was used to hide them. James Potter was killed instantly and Lily Potter sacrificed her life for her sons and when Voldemort used the Killing Curse on Harry, he survived. Not only was this impossible as nothing is capable of stopping the Killing Curse, but the curse rebounded and Voldemort was no more, a child, a _baby,_ had won the war. Death Eaters were captured and rounded up and the Wizarding World moved on.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to this?” Sam questioned.

“There is, a _lot_ more,” she answered him and Seth detected the sadness in her, he didn’t like the look of haunting he saw in her eyes and so he nudged her stomach with his nose, her eyes lowering to look at him.

His heart broke at the pain and suffering in her expression and he let out a low whine, gently nuzzling his face against her stomach. If she thought it odd or inappropriate, she didn’t comment, especially given that she knew him to be a human. Perhaps she was simply finding it difficult to distinguish between him and the wolf but whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to complain. 

“You’re a needy wolf, aren’t you?” She said amusedly, running her hand through his fur, helping to calm him and he all but purred. He heard sniggers at both her comment and his response.

 _‘Shut up, it feels nice,’_ he grumbled down the mind link.

“When a witch or wizard turns eleven, we attend magic school up to the age of eighteen, and we learn to control our magic, to harness it and how to use it to our full potential. As any school, we’re prepared for life after we leave the safety and comfort we’ve grown used to. There are many magical schools in the world and given that I resided in England, I was accepted to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, the most prestigious school in Europe. There I met Harry Potter and the Weasley family, and they became my best friends and family. Unfortunately, our years at school were far from normal, even by magical standards. During my first year alone, I was attacked by a troll in the girl’s bathroom, I smuggled a newly hatched dragon out of the castle, I got detention in the Forbidden Forest where dark magical creatures roam, I snuck past a three-headed dog, a Cerberus, named Fluff, I was almost strangled to death by Devil’s Snare, a magical plant, I played a life-sized game of wizard’s chess and I discovered the answer to a very difficult potions riddle. You’re wondering why I did all of this crazy stuff, aren’t you?” She said knowingly.

 _‘Fuck yes!’_ Paul thought, moving closer to her. Seth growled at him in warning from his place on her knee.

‘ _Calm down, you’ve laid your claim, she’s just interesting, I like her.’_

Seth growled again. _‘I know what happens to girls you_ like _.’_

 _‘They have a good time,’_ he thought smugly.

_‘Shut up!’_

“Well, we discovered that there was this magical stone hidden in the castle for protection.”

“Castle?” Sam interrupted.

“Hogwarts is a thousand-year-old castle, the school was founded a millennia ago by four of the most powerful witches and wizards to exist. It’s hidden in the Scottish Mountains and if muggles were to come across it, all they’d see is an abandoned coal mine.”

 _‘Is she being serious?’_ Quil asked disbelievingly.

 _‘I think she is,’_ Embry nodded.

“Anyway, this magical stone not only had the ability to turn any metal into gold but to give immortality. We discovered that Voldemort wasn’t dead, just severely weakened and he wished to restore himself to his full power. Long story short, we were able to stop him. Our second year at school, there was a hidden chamber in the castle known as the Chamber of Secrets, it was thought to only be a legend but it was opened and a dangerous and dark creature was released, a twenty-foot long snake known as a basilisk. Its goal was to kill Muggleborns.”

A growl rumbled in his chest but it soon settled into a purr-like noise when he felt her hand raking through the fur on his head, just behind his ears, his eyes almost rolling into the back of his head.

“Thankfully, by avoiding eye contact, it didn’t kill but it did put its victim into a petrified state, unable to move, eat, sleep, drink, blink. All that could be done was think and listen to those around you. You’re frozen in time whilst the world continues to move on without you. You could feel someone touching you, you could hear people begging you to wake up, and you could see people crying over you, but you can’t do anything about it.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” Sam observed.

“I am,” she nodded with a sigh. “I was petrified along with a cat, a ghost, and three other Muggleborn student and I was in that state for two months before the potion to cure us was finally complete. From what Harry told me, Ginny Weasley, the youngest Weasley child, had been possessed by this dark magical artefact and she was the one to release the monster. She was kidnapped and Harry killed the monster, destroyed the magical artefact and rescued Ginny, which brought that year to an end. When we entered our third year, a notorious murderer had escaped from Azkaban and that’d never happened before; Azkaban’s inescapable due to the dark magical creatures guarding it. Sirius Black, not only was he Harry’s Godfather, he was the best friend to his father and he was imprisoned for the murder of Harry’s parents, another wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles.”

“It wasn’t until later in the year that we discovered, he was innocent and he’d been framed by Pettigrew, who’d faked his death. Sirius Black broke into the castle a few times, we had a mishap with a hippogriff and at the end of the year, we found ourselves trapped with Sirius Black, we discovered that Peter Pettigrew was alive and he, too, was a shape-shifter of sorts, an Animagus.” Hermione sensed the confusion and surprise, so elaborated further. “An Animagus is a witch or wizard that has the ability to shift into an animal at will, but only a small percentage can do it. It’s a learned and difficult skill. Pettigrew’s animal was a rat, and we discovered he’d been posing as one for twelve years, a pet that belonged to Ronald and his brother before him. We captured him so we could clear Sirius’ name but everything suddenly went wrong and he escaped. That night’s a bit of blur but in short, we travelled back in time to save Harry and Sirius’ lives and with Pettigrew escaping, Sirius was forced to remain a fugitive at large.”

“Is that everything?”

His imprint laughed at his Alpha. “Nowhere near done, the years only get more traumatising,” she trailed off, her voice quieting as she stared at a point off in the distance over Sam’s shoulder.

Seth didn’t like the sound of that and moved closer so his body was now completely flush against hers and she was leaning against him with her hand still running through his fur, but she didn’t seem to mind he’d all but wrapped himself around her and neither was he going to complain. With his imprint pressed against him, her hand carding through his fur, he’d never been happier.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Tuesday 23rd May 2006**

“When we returned for our fourth year, we discovered there was to be an international competition between Hogwarts, a school from Bulgaria and a school from France, who came to stay with us for the school year whilst the Triwizard Tournament took place. Three wizards or witches, one from each school, were chosen as a Champion to represent their school. The tournament consisted of three dangerous tasks that would be judged on the creativity, magical ability and success of the wizard or witch. For Bulgaria, it was Viktor Krum, France, it was Fleur Delacour and for Hogwarts, it was Cedric Diggory. All Champions had to be over the age of seventeen and there were powerful spells preventing underage wizards from attempting to enter their names. Harry’s name was also chosen, he was only fourteen at the time. Someone was trying to kill him but due to the magically binding contract, he had to partake no matter how much he was at a disadvantage. His opponents were three years older than him and they’d perfected forms of magic Harry didn’t even know existed or couldn’t dream of attempting, so I helped him the best I could without breaking the rules of the tournament.”

“The first task required the Champions to get past a dragon and collect an egg. He did it but he broke his arm and was chased around Hogwarts’ grounds on his broom when the dragon broke free of its chains. He scared the life out of me. The second task required the Champions to discover a way to breathe underwater for an hour, swim in the Black Lake and find something that had been taken whilst also battling the dark creatures that habited the waters. The thing that was taken from each Champion was something they would miss the most, people. Harry’s was Ronald, Cedric’s was his girlfriend, Fleur’s was her little sister and Viktor’s was me.”

A growl of jealous rumbled in his throat, the implication of her words clear.

“What’s his problem?” Hermione asked, looking down at the wolf in confusion.

 _‘Yeah, Seth, what’s your problem?’_ Embry teased.

_‘Shut up!’_

“Anyway, Harry not only rescued Ronald but Fleur’s little sister, too,” a proud smile pulled at her mouth. “The final task was a maze filled with challenges and dangerous creatures and the trophy had been turned into a port-key, a magical form of travel, basically teleportation,” she explained. “It transported him and Cedric to a graveyard where he discovered the entire competition had been a trap and Voldemort had a spy in Hogwarts, someone that’d disguised themselves as a professor...”

“What is it?” Sam asked when she suddenly trailed off, no sign of her continuing.

Seth could hear the grumbles of the others, they’d been listening attentively to her, enraptured as they often were when listening to Billy Black speak of the legends around a bonfire, and they were disappointed that she’d stopped in her tale, in the telling of her story.

“How old are the pups?” She asked quietly. 

“Thirteen,” he replied slowly.

His imprint closed her eyes tightly and breathed deeply.

“No, I won’t let them hear the rest of it, it’s not for children. It could give them nightmares. Wait here,” she instructed, pulling away from him, shuffling out from beneath him and then disappearing inside her tent. When she returned, she carried a thick tome in her hand.

“May I have my wand, please?”

He eyed her carefully before reaching for her wand and hesitantly handing it to her.

“ _Gemino_ ,” she muttered, her wand aimed at the book and they all blinked when there were suddenly two copies when before there’d only been one.

“Okay, Pups, over here, please,” she spoke, standing on the other side of the firepit. Brady and Collin darted a questioning glance to the rest of the pack.

 _‘She’s not going to hurt you, she doesn’t want you to hear whatever she’s going to tell us, she’s got a book for you to read,’_ Seth defended but they didn’t look placated.

 _‘She wouldn’t hurt you,’_ Jacob spoke calmly. _‘She’s had numerous chances to do so, by the looks of things she’s just going to give you a book to read, off you go,’_ he echoed Seth’s thoughts.

Listening to the True Alpha and receiving a nod from Sam, the pups hesitantly approached Hermione.

His imprint smiled at them softly. “Nothing to worry about, Pups,” she assured them. “I have something you might be interested in, this is my favourite book, I’ve read it about a thousand times, I can reiterate every page word for word,” she said proudly. “This is _Hogwarts, a History_ and it’s all about the school I attended. It tells you everything about the castle from the rules, to classes, to secret passageways, to ghosts and the portraits, moving staircases and the Giant Squid that lives in the Black Lake, I think you’ll like it.” She set the large books on the ground before tapping them with the tip of her wand until they glowed blue. “When you want to turn the page, just touch it with your nose,” she informed them, taking a step back. “I’m going to cast a Silencing Charm, it won’t hurt them; they won’t even know it’s there.”

“What will it do?” Sam asked her stiffly.

“It will prevent them from hearing anything we talk about, we’ll still be able to see and hear them, but they can’t hear us,” she explained and he slowly nodded his permission. Hermione raised her wand and waved it, muttering under breath. “It’s done, here you go,” she handed her wand back to Sam and he eyed her before taking it. Seth was happy when she sat down beside him and continued to run her hand through his fur as if she hadn’t stopped and he let out a purr and she snorted at him.

“You’re a funny one,” she commented amusedly.

 _‘You have no idea,’_ Quil thought.

_‘Shut it, we’ve all seen how you act around Claire.’_

_‘Got you there,’_ Jared laughed.

 _‘You’re no better around Kim,’_ Embry shot in.

“When Harry and Cedric arrived at the graveyard, Cedric was murdered immediately, Harry was captured and his blood was used in a ritual to give Voldemort his body back, returning him to full power. Harry was able to escape and he returned Cedric’s body to his father. I will _never_ forget that day,” her voice grew quiet, haunted as she stared off into the distance. “I’d never seen Harry cry, he was huddled over Cedric’s body, clinging to him and screaming. That night marked the end of everything. Nothing would be the same.”

“When we returned for our fifth year, the Ministry was trying to sweep the previous happenings under the rug, not wishing to believe that Harry and Headmaster Dumbledore were telling the truth regarding Voldemort's return. In order to keep an eye on Dumbledore, they tasked a truly awful witch to attend the school as a professor, and fearing that Dumbledore was secretly creating an army of students, she banned the use of practical magic, and she used illegal forms of punishment if her personal rules were broken. One of which was a blood quill. Lines were written on parchment and they carved into the skin of the hand in blood.”

Seth was horrified when Hermione lifted her hand to show the faint scarring that read _‘I must learn my place in the world.’_

“How did you get that?” Sam asked her, frowning slightly.

A smile lit her face.

“We were in danger, no one believed that Voldemort was back and there was a war coming. We weren’t being taught how to defend ourselves so Harry and I set up an illegal study session, Dumbledore’s Army, we called it. We had over fifty members and it took place in a hidden classroom that would only appear for us. We learned how to defend ourselves and duel but we were later betrayed when one of our members told Umbridge our location. She gave us all detention; over fifty of us have scars. Mine is aimed at my blood status, she _hated_ Muggleborns despite only being a Half-blood herself. But I got my revenge on both Edgecombe and Umbridge. I’d cursed the parchment signup sheet so we’d know who betrayed us if it did happen, and she now has ‘sneak’ written across her forehead in acne for the rest of her life with no way of covering it,” she smiled, looking far too pleased with herself.

“Anyway, Headmaster Dumbledore was fired and they tried to arrest him but he escaped and Umbridge was made Headmistress. Harry was sent a message from Voldemort of Sirius being tortured and we helped him get out of the castle but first, we ran into trouble. Umbridge was going to torture Harry and I saw it fit that it was about time she was punished for her actions. Do you have any idea how many eleven-year-olds I found crying, their hands dripping with blood? She’d given them detention for simply laughing too loud and I wasn’t letting her get away with it,” she said darkly.

 _‘Okay, this chick’s starting to scare me,’_ Paul muttered.

“I led her into a trap involving a giant and a heard of centaurs. If she hadn’t of been prejudiced cow she would’ve been fine but she just couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Anyway, we got to the Ministry of Magic, headquarters of the government but it was a trap. There was a battle between us and some Death Eaters. Poor Neville broke his wand and his nose, Luna had a nasty head wound, Ginny broke her ankle, Sirius was killed by his cousin – a Death Eater, Harry was possessed by Voldemort, Ron was knocked unconscious by this weird tank of tentacles and brains, and I...”

“You?” Sam prompted when she paused

“I almost died,” she admitted.

_‘WHAT!’ Seth growled._

_‘Calm down, she’s fine now.’_

“I was sixteen and my life flashed before my eyes,” she whispered, a haunted look crossing her face. Seth was snarling lowly and shaking, his imprint absentmindedly scratching behind his ears to calm him. 

“Antonin Dolohov, he was fifty years older than me and he threw a curse at me, I was able to silence him and luckily I had as it saved my life. The Healers had never seen anything like it; I was the first person to survive the curse. I was in the hospital for two weeks, on bed rest for two months and I had to take a potion regime of ten different potions three times a day for three months, in hopes that it would cure me.”

“Did it?”

“No, not entirely,” she whispered before changing the subject. “The Ministry finally pulled their heads out of their arses and admitted that Voldemort had returned but they didn’t have a choice, he was literally stood in the atrium trying to kill us,” she snorted. “We started preparing for war. Voldemort had his Death Eaters and we had the Order of the Phoenix, a secret organisation, a team of witches and wizards that dedicated their lives to protecting the innocent and those that couldn’t protect themselves. When I became of age, seventeen, I was officially asked to join.”

“I’ve blocked most of my sixth year of Hogwarts due to how bad it was but to simplify what happened, there was an underage Death Eater in school and he was forced into it under the threat of his mother and himself being killed. His father was a Death Eater and in Azkaban having been captured during the battle at the Ministry. He had to try and kill Dumbledore and in the process, he accidentally cursed a student who was in the hospital for months, he accidentally poisoned Ronald and he created access for Death Eaters to get into Hogwarts. We all battled, we locked anyone younger than seventeen in the common and dorm rooms to protect them and we fought and the Order of the Phoenix arrived to help. A lot of people were severely injured, Bill Weasley, the eldest child, was attacked by a werewolf and he’s scarred for life. Dumbledore was killed that night and the castle was taken over by Voldemort, we all fled.”

“During the summer we had to retrieve Harry from his horrific and abusive muggle family without Voldemort knowing and he had to be protected; he was the only one that could kill Voldemort and end the war, he was The Chosen One. We devised a plan. We have a potion that allows for another to take on the identity of a person, it takes a month to brew and it has the foulest taste you could possibly imagine,” she grimaced. “There were fourteen of us including Harry himself, six off us took the potion to make us identical clones of Harry and the other seven were to be our guards. We each travelled with different methods. I was with Kingsley, we flew on the back of a thestral. We had a spy in our ranks and they betrayed us by leaking our plan. Voldemort and his Death Eaters were waiting for us and we had to battle whilst in the air. When we arrived at our safe house, Alastor Moody had been killed, as had Hedwig, Harry’s owl, and George Weasley lost his left ear.”

“We didn’t return to school for our final year, we couldn’t; only Half-bloods and Purebloods were allowed to attend and Death Eaters were Professors, using the Torture Curse on students and teaching them how to use dark magic on others, teaching them how to _kill_. Harry had been given a mission that would allow him to kill Voldemort for good if he succeeded and Ronald and I went with him.”

“For close to a year we were on the run, being hunted Death Eaters and snatchers. Voldemort had discovered a way to prolong his life, a form of magic that was so heinous it defied the laws of nature, it was wiped from existence, only one book speaking of it. He was essentially immortal, after splitting his very soul and encasing fragments inside objects.”

They all looked horrified and Seth watched as one by one, Paul, Jared, Embry and Quil left the clearing before coming back out in clothing and human form, taking a seat around the firepit. She didn’t seem to notice, her eyes had glazed over, her thoughts running away with her.

“He’d made seven and he couldn’t be destroyed until they’d been destroyed, but we didn’t know _what_ they were, _where_ they were or _how_ to destroy them. It was a year of hell, of constantly running in fear, betrayals, injuries and nightmares, starvation, anger and arguments. We broke into the Ministry of Magic, knocking out three employees and stealing their identities using PolyJuice Potion. We found one of the items, Slytherin’s locket. Salazar Slytherin was one of the founders of Hogwarts and he, too, believed in blood supremacy, he didn’t believe Muggleborns worthy of leaning the art of magic, Voldemort was a direct descendent of Slytherin, the reasoning behind his use of the locket. The locket affected the wearer, it prayed on their fears and insecurities and one day it was all too much and Ronald and Harry had an argument and he walked out on us, leaving us alone. We didn’t see him until months later when he returned with the Sword of Gryffindor, one of the things that can destroy the objects.”

“Not long after that, we were captured. I managed to distort Harry’s face so he was unrecognisable but Ronald and I were, however. They took us to Malfoy Manor, Harry and Ron were taken to the dungeons and I was taken to the drawing room,” she went deadly quietly. The only sounds were that of the turning pages of the books Brady and Collin were reading, the crackling of the fire and the breathing of the pack.

“What happened?”

Seth was surprised to see that it was Jacob that had asked. He’d changed back and pulled on clothes whilst their attention was on Hermione. Tears fell from her eyes and they clouded over, her face contorted in pain.

“I was tortured,” she whispered. Seth snarled lowly in his throat. “I was beaten, I was carved into,” her hand came away from Seth’s fur and it trailed over her covered left arm absentmindedly, their eyes followed the movement. “The Torture Curse was used repeatedly and you’ve never felt anything like it. There’s a reason it’s an Unforgivable. You have to hate the person so much that you want them to feel so much pain that they could die from it, that they would _beg_ for death. It’s like your blood’s boiling, your skin’s on fire and it’s melting away from your bones and muscle. Like your bones are being shattered, and your lungs are slowly filling with blood. Your brain’s swelling and about to explode. You’re being stabbed with white-hot knives and you’re being torn apart. I felt _all_ of that, over and over and over, for hours. I don’t know how many times, I blacked out from the pain,” she whispered, her tears falling forcefully.

“The Healers were surprised that I survived, when exposed to the Torture Curse for more than five hours in small intervals, the brain shuts down. It breaks the mind, creates insanity, leaving the victim barely able to talk, sleep or eat,” she sniffled, deliberately ignoring their horrified expressions. “The Healers said it was a miracle that I survived, sometimes I wish I hadn’t, I can’t get rid of the memories... But then I remember I beat the cow that did this to me. She’s dead and I’m alive. I didn’t tell them anything, the most they got out of me was my name. I was tortured and all they learned was my name,” her mouth twitched. “I was almost raped, too, Fenrir Greyback, a truly nasty wizard and a dark Alpha werewolf. He bites children, children no younger than four-years-old because he thinks it fun to watch them suffer, to watch them go through the change,” her voice had hardened and turned cold.

“Harry and Ron rescued me and the other prisoners with the help of a house-elf who died getting us to a safe house. I was patched up and I’d learned some information from Bellatrix, she had one of Voldemort’s objects hidden in her vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. No one in the history of magic has ever broken into Gringotts. But we did. I used PolyJuice Potion and I had Bellatrix’s wand, we got in and found Helga Hufflepuff’s cup, she was also a founder of Hogwarts, along with Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw. We were double-crossed by the goblin that helped us, we almost died but we stole a dragon and destroyed half of Gringotts during our escape, riding it straight through the ceiling before jumping into a lake,” she shook her head, her hand moving back to Seth’s fur.

“Voldemort discovered what we’d done and that marked the day it became the Final Battle. We sent word to every witch and wizard we knew would fight with us and we were smuggled into Hogwarts. Some students had taken refuge in our hidden room, the older ones protecting the younger ones, I was so proud of them,” her mouth twitched proudly. “During the Final Battle, Ronald and I destroyed the cup and Harry found another object, Ravenclaw’s diadem. We almost died when a student Death Eater cast fiendfyre, and uncontrollable and demon-possessed fire that can’t be stopped and that consumes everything in its path until there’s nothing left and it dies out. A student Death Eater died but we saved ourselves and two other Death Eaters. After that, I saved Fred Weasley’s life, he was almost crushed to death by a falling wall.”

“We discovered that Harry had already destroyed the diary, another object, during our second year and Dumbledore destroyed the ring, also another object. That’s five, during the battle we learned that Nagini, Voldemort’s giant pet snake was number six and Harry himself was number seven. He ran off to sacrifice himself and we couldn’t find him. Voldemort had killed him and he made one of our own carry his body to the middle of the battlefield for everyone to see. I remember him gloating, giving a speech on how we should give up but Harry wasn’t dead, not really. The battle continued, Neville killed Nagini and Voldemort was finally mortal and then he Voldemort fell, his body turning into ash and he will never return. Death Eaters fled, some were killed and others captured and sentenced to Azkaban.”

Hermione lifted her gaze and her eyes refocused, looking surprised when she noticed all but four wolves, had changed back, Seth, Leah, Brady and Collin.

“Oh, hi,” she muttered, wiping away her tears. “After the war, the Wizarding World picked itself back up and healed. Hogwarts was repaired and reopened with a new Headmistress, a strict but brilliant one. Businesses flourished, as did marriages and pregnancies. Harry and Ron went straight into Auror training and I went back to school to complete my last year of education. Everyone except the new first years and the eighth years, which was myself and my friends, had to repeat their previous year as well as leaning for their expected year. I graduated in March. I took a crash course in Auror training and I’m helping the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to track and capture fugitive Death Eaters, there’ only eleven left and once captured, they’ll be sentenced to prison for war crimes. So, that’s my story.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 9

**Tuesday 23rd May 2006**

Silence reigned upon them, Hermione being very much aware that their eyes darted between her and each other.

Someone cleared their throat. "Hi, I'm Jared, What're Aurors?"

"Hello, Jared, Aurors are magical policemen," she replied.

"Paul," he wiggled his eyebrows and Seth snarled at lowly him in warning, narrowing his eyes from his place with his head still resting in her lap. "Why're you a celebrity?"

"Harry was 'The-Boy-Who-Lived,' he's been famous since the day he defeated Voldemort as a baby. Ever since I met Harry and Ronald, we've been known as 'The Golden Trio'. We were always up to mischief and saving the day, getting into trouble, getting injured and solving mysteries. As the years went on, our names started popping up in the newspapers. We were the three most wanted people in the _world_ during the final year of the war. I was a major key player in helping to end the war and for that, I'm known, as well as me being Harry's best friend. I'm the most famous Muggleborn witch in the world. I can't walk down a magical street without someone wanting an interview, photograph or autograph, without someone stalking me or camera flashes going off in my face. I hated it, I didn't have any privacy, I couldn't even sneeze without it ending up on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_."

"Embry, we heard you speaking to that man, Lowel, I think?" He frowned slightly and she nodded. "You said you'd killed people."

Her face saddened. "Yes, I have and I'm not proud of it."

"How many?"

She was hesitant to answer but she knew they'd be suspicious of her if she didn't and they'd know when she lied. She already told them everything, there was no point in lying now or leaving anything out, especially if they asked.

"I've killed seventeen Death Eaters, four werewolves, twelve vampires and I helped to kill a giant, that's not counting those that may have been hit with any deflected curses or ricocheting spells. I would die before I use dark magic, but all the lives I took, I did so in self-defence of myself or others. I was forced to watch as a vampire tore apart one of my professors. I was forced to watch a werewolf, still in human form, tore out the throat of one of my friends with his teeth. I'm not proud of what I've done but I can't take it back and I'll never take another life again, not if I can help it. I can still see their faces and after the war, I made sure that I learned the names of every life that I took, so they weren't just faceless people in a war. It doesn't matter that they were rapists, murderers and sadists, I still took their lives," she trailed off, her eyes locking on the movement of her hand as it ran through the wolf's soft fur.

"Jacob," he introduced. Her eyes lifted to his. "How'd you know we were shape-shifters and why are you on our land?"

"Now, that's easy," she shifted slightly to get more comfortable. "The American Ministry of Magic has been aware of shape-shifters in this Tribe for many generations. You are essentially magical beings, you're like me except you can't perform magic in the way I do, you're magic manifests itself in the ability of you changing into a giant, _giant_ wolf," she explained, snorts sounding from them as she pointedly eyed the large frames of the four wolves. "They observed the first Quileute pack and they determined that you are not a threat to human life, that's why you're left in peace without interference. As long as you don't harm a human, you'll be fine. And if anything, you belong in my world, the Wizarding World. When you shifted for the first time, the files at the Ministry will have automatically updated, I was aware that you existed but not of your identities. I also know there are vampires nearby and I _hate_ them. I've seen what they're capable of and I haven't yet met one that doesn't have darkness in them."

"I really like you," Paul commented amusedly. Hermione blinked slowly in surprise and Seth snarled at him. "Though they're veggies, they only drink animal blood," he sounded disgusted as he said those words, a grimace on his face.

Hermione snorted. "They'll slip up, vampires can only resist the temptation of human blood if they've been drinking animal blood since their change; they have to feed on an animal for their very first feed. If they've had human blood before, they'll slip up no matter how many little Bambis are running around. You'll have to keep an eye on them, they can't be trusted," she warned and they glanced at one another in surprise. "As for why I'm _here_ , I wanted someplace quiet, someplace a certain someone wouldn't be able to find me. I picked this place randomly on the map and then pulled the file to see if there were any magical beings and communities nearby. I wanted to be close to at least something magical so I wasn't on my own, so I wasn't isolated. As for why I'm on your land, it's an accident, I wasn't sure where the boundary lines were," she shrugged. "I'll pack up and move my tent off your land so that I'm in Forks, it's not an issue."

Seth immediately shot both Jacob and Sam a pleading look; he wouldn't have access to his imprint if she was no longer on their land, and there wasn't a chance in hell he'd allow her to reside in the same place as the Cullens.

"No, it's alright, you can stay," Sam spoke. Hermione gave a smile before staring into the fire, entranced by the movement of the flames.

"How can you live in a tent?"

"And you are?"

"Quil," he answered.

"Well, Quill, go and have a look," she tipped her head towards it. He arched an eyebrow. "Go on," she encouraged.

He shrugged before rising to his feet, walking over to the tent and sticking his head inside.

"Oh my fucking god!"

His imprint laughed and it warmed his heart, it was such a melodious sound, infectious and pure and he purred in content.

"What is it?" Embry asked.

"It's bigger on the inside!" He called over to them, the sound surprisingly echoing.

"Don't be an idiot," Jared snorted before Quil stepped into the tent and out of view.

"It is," Hermione confirmed. "I have a bathroom with a working shower and toilet, a kitchen with a working oven, a bedroom, a living room _and_ a potions lab. It's essentially a house. I really love magic," she commented.

"You're being serious?" Jared spluttered.

"Of course, I am," she frowned slightly. "Have a look if you wish, just don't go near my bookcase, I don't want you getting injured."

His eyes darted between her and the tent before his curiosity got the best of him and he stood, crossed to it and stepped inside.

"Oh my fucking god!" He called and Hermione laughed again. Jared and Quil exited the tent, returning to their current seating positions and taking them silently.

"She's right, it's like a house in there," Jared muttered.

"Told you so," she shrugged lightly. "Anyway, I know that you deal with vampires when they trespass on your land so I won't interfere with that, so please, don't interfere if a Death Eater comes for me. You don't know how unhinged they are, you've never faced them, you don't understand magic, practical or theory. You can't distinguish from a Tickling Charm and the Killing Curse and I don't want anyone to get hurt."

Seth growled in disagreement.

"What if _you_ get hurt?" Jacob asked her.

"Then I get hurt, I always have a backup plan and I have a way to contact Harry and he can be by my side in less than five minutes if I need him. As for that whole beach scene earlier today, I'm sorry about that, they were cornering me and I'm less of a target in an open space. I didn't think anyone would be there given the cold and forecast rain. I'll make sure to keep them confined to these woods."

"No harm done, not to us at least," Sam assured her.

"That reminds me, I have to apply my salve," she held her hand out expectantly. "Wand please." Sam gave it to her without hesitation, apparently having earned his trust. " _Accio_ Dittany," she muttered, catching the jaw in her outstretched hand when it came flying from inside the tent. "If you're squeamish, I'd suggest you look away," she warned before removing her bandages. Her leg had a deep wound but the bone could no longer be still, but it still wasn't a pretty sight. She removed the lid from the jar and she lathered the wound in the thick paste, wincing and hissing before wrapping her wound back up and repeating the process with her arm.

"What caused it?" Jared asked her as Seth whimpered when she hissed in pain.

" _Sanguinem_ , it's considered to be grey magic. It gouges and has been known to take off a limb or two in the process, blood pours uncontrollably as if you were a haemophiliac and you have to have specialist training to be able to stop the bleeding, after that, a Healing Charm and some Dittany can fix it up," she answered, reapplying the lid to the jar. " _Scourgify_ ," she spoke and her hands appeared clean. "Cleaning Charm," she explained.

"What's a Cloaker?" Jacob suddenly asked.

"Bloody hell, you really _did_ hear everything," she blinked in surprise.

"Yeah," he shrugged, "You said you were one of the best."

She nodded. "Yes, I am. A Cloaker is a witch or wizard that has the ability to disappear, to go off the radar, so to speak. It's exceptionally hard to track me; if I don't want you to find me then you won't. I hid myself, Ronald and Harry, for almost a year whilst on the run. The only reason we were found and captured was that Harry, the lovable idiot he is, said the Taboo in a fit of anger, and that automatically bypassed my ability to keep us hidden. Don't get me wrong, we had a few close calls but we were never found because of my ability to cloak us. Witches and wizards are all born with magic but some are better at things than others are."

"Such as?"

"Well, I'm horrendous at flying, it's a simple skill those that grow up in the Wizarding World learn from the age of five, I didn't learn until I was eleven which put me at a disadvantage but I haven't got the talent for it. Now, Harry, he was raised in the Muggle World, too, with his muggle Aunt, Uncle and cousin. He didn't learn to fly until he was eleven, either, but he's an amazing flyer, I've never seen a flyer like him. It's so easy for him. Also, some magical folk are Animagi and others aren't, simply because they don't have the natural talent to carry out such difficult magic, some are better at potions where others may be better at herbology. Some find charms more manageable whilst others are more skilled at transfiguration."

"I'm a Cloaker, I can hide from anyone I want to, _but_ , Auror Higgins, in particular, he's a Tracker, he's the exact opposite; he can find almost anyone as long as they aren't a Cloaker or have a small amount of talent for it, in which, his job becomes more difficult," she shrugged. "That's why I'm surprised the Death Eaters are falling for my trap. They're aware that I'm a known Cloaker yet they immediately come running when they realise I've left a trail."

"They don't seem very smart," Quil mused.

"Most of them aren't, it's the inbreeding, it's made them unhinged, damaged their minds and magic. In fact, the wizarding population has fallen dramatically due to going through _two_ wars, not to mention, Pureblood families are dying out because of the inbreeding. It's affected their fertility, it's difficult for a Pureblood witch to conceive, if she does there's a high chance she will miscarry or have a Squib and a small chance they'll have a magical child if they carry to term. It's why some Muggleborns and Half-bloods are more powerful than Purebloods, despite what they believe, our magic is actually purer because our blood and magic aren't polluted."

"You said something, something about Merlin and class," Embry said, looking confused, frowning.

"Order of Merlin: First Class?" She offered.

"Yeah, that's it," he nodded. "What is it? You said you were a recipient."

Hermione sighed and muttered something beneath her breath, something in another language.

"An Order of Merlin: First Class, is an award, a medal, if you will. It's the magical equivalent of the Medal of Honour."

"You have a Medal of Honour?" He spluttered.

"Yes, the magical equivalent, as does Harry and Ronald," she confirmed, fighting down the blush at their stares. "Now..." She paused, her gaze lifting to the sky above when a loud hoot sounded. Hermione's face lit up. "Crystal!" She called happily and to their surprise, the white snowy owl swooped down and carefully landed on Hermione's uninjured and outstretched arm.

" _What_ the fuck is that?" Paul questioned in surprise, leaning back and away from the owl.

"An owl, it's one of the ways we communicate in the Wizarding World. Owls are domestic animals, much like dogs. They're our familiars along with cats, rats and toads. Every witch or wizards has one. I had a cat but he died during the war. But, this beautiful owl is Crystal." They all stared at her like she was mad when she stroked the owl's feathers and the owl hooted in response, fluttering her wings. "She belongs to Fred and George Weasley, they're my twin big brothers," she explained, her attention moving to the owl. "What have the demonic redheads sent you with this time?" She untied a small box from the owl.

"There's some treats in the kitchen if you wouldn't mind getting them."

The owl hooted in response, nipped her finger affectionately and then took flight, heading into the tent.

" _Engorgio_ ," she muttered, her wand aimed at the small box until the package grew in size, it no longer being the size of her palm but now a food hamper.

"Food, they sent me food, those boys are my heroes," she groaned in appreciation, snorts sounding around her.

Removing the letter spell-o-taped to the basket, she slid it from the envelope and flipped open the parchment.

"What does it say?" Paul asked, trying to move closer to her to see.

"Nosy, aren't you?"

"Yeah," he agreed without shame. "What does it say?" He repeated.

She sighed in annoyance, rolling her eyes before lifting the parchment a little higher.

"Mia, the best little sister in the world, don't tell Ginny we said that; she'll hex us," Hermione shook her head. "We miss you, how long will you be gone? Don't let the idiot keep you away from us. We need your brains; we've been having trouble with the new product we've been working on. For some reason, it keeps exploding, we've gone through ten cauldrons in two days! We need you home."

"But on a brighter note, Dad got a raise at work and he's been promoted, he's got a new office that he keeps filling with broken muggle light bulbs and those strange boxes that move and have sound. Ginny graduates in a couple of weeks and she's upset that you're going to miss it but she understands. Percy's got his usual stick up his arse, we pranked him last week, we filled his apartment with gnomes and the ungrateful prat told mum, she made us get rid of them. Do you have any idea how many bites we have? We have them in places we can't even mention for fear of corrupting your delicate mind," Hermione snorted. "Bill and Fleur are still in love, it's sickening. When does the honeymoon phase wear off, they've been married nearly bloody two years? And, bloody hell, you'll never guess what! Fleur's pregnant, two months along; we're going to be the best Uncles the Wizarding World's seen. Charlie visited the other day, he was telling us about Mandy but we won't spoil the surprise, expect an owl from him any day now. Mum's still going on about _the incident_ , we haven't revealed where you are and neither has Harry, we'll make sure they don't find you."

"We've packed you some food since Harry's likely already given you your sweets to satisfy your sweet tooth. Don't worry, mum hasn't cooked it, it's from the Leaky Cauldron so you don't have to worry about it being laced with Love Potion. Just a warning, if you _do_ come back soon, the press has been all over The Golden Trio, especially you, we haven't seen it this bad since the war ended... Good luck, our arse-kicking Warrior Princess. Love, Fred and George."

"Love Potion?" Quil asked.

"I just read an entire letter filled with magical terms and that's the one you're fixated on?" She arched an eyebrow. He nodded. "Yes, Love Potions, they exist but most of them are illegal. They aren't taught until sixth year and it requires a lot of skill to successfully brew them. But Love Potions don't create actual love, they create infatuation and obsession and it wears off soon enough."

Crystal hooted loudly before flying out of the tent and over to Hermione, landing on her shoulder and she nuzzled her head against Hermione's cheek.

"Hey, Crystal, you had your fill?" She asked softly and the owl hooted. "Water, too?" She hooted again. "You're staying the night, it's been a long flight for you. I'll have a letter for you to deliver to the twins in the morning."

All eyes turned upwards when they heard a second hoot. "What's with all these owls?" Jared muttered.

Hermione's face lit up.

 _'God, she's beautiful,'_ Seth sighed.

Leah snorted. _'Whipped much?'_

_'Shut up!'_

"It's Terry," Hermione explained. "Charlie's owl. He's the second oldest Weasley and he lives in Romania, he tames dragons for a living."

Paul whistled. "Now there's a job, I still can't believe they're real."

"They are," Hermione nodded as the eagle owl landed on her arm. "Hi, Terry," she greeted, "I'll take that package and you can rest up with Crystal for the night, there's food and water in the tent." She removed the package from the owl. "Off you both go, go on," she shooed and the owls rubbed against her affectionately before flying away and into the tent.

"That's weird," he commented with a grimace.

"It's normal for me but admittedly, it did take me a while to get used to it. Being a Muggleborn, I didn't learn about magic until my Hogwarts letter arrived when I was eleven," she shrugged, opening the letter.

"What does that one say?"

"Merlin, Paul, you're nosier than the twins and that's saying something. I can't open a letter without them reading it over my shoulder."

He shrugged. "So, what does it say?"

She sighed in defeat, reaching up to push her hair back from her face and over her shoulder.

"Hermione, when are you coming to visit? You'd love Romania in the spring, all the dragon eggs are hatching now, speaking of... Mandy's egg hatched. We now have a three-day-old Antipodean Opaleye named Betty. I win the bet, and that means you have to pay up and I want proof that you're fulfilling your end of the bargain. Don't make me take a day off to supervise you," Hermione snorted. "I'm sorry this letter is short but I've got to see to Cara, her egg's due to hatch any minute now. I'll see you soon, take care of yourself and knock out a Death Eater for me. Remember, fulfil your end of the bargain, Love, Charlie."

"What's this thing you have to do?"

Hermione enlarged the package before removing a t-shirt and holding it up for them to see. It was white and on the front, in flashing orange and red it said 'Charlie Weasley's the best big brother in the world, no matter what the twins say.' Underneath there was a moving photo of Charlie, grinning widely before pulling a face and sticking his tongue out.

"I have to wear this for an _entire_ day," she grimaced and they snorted at her.

She put the t-shirt down and she removed the wizarding photograph, smiling at the tiny pearl-like dragon, its scales sparkling in the sunlight and the dragon coughed, smoke pouring out of its mouth and fire out of its nostrils and she laughed.

"Here you go, Paul, meet Betty," she introduced, leaning over to hand him the photograph.

"It's moving!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, wizarding photos move but they don't make sound; now portraits, on the other hand, can't shut them up."

"That's a dragon and it's moving," he spoke dumbly.

"It is," she agreed slowly and Seth let out a bark of laughter. Hermione smiled at him and scratched his head, his tongue falling out of the side of his mouth comically.

 _'Idiot,'_ Leah murmured from her place by the trees, sat down and waiting to leave.

"It's adorable," Jared laughed, leaning over to look at the photo.

" _She_ 's adorable," Hermione corrected. "She's an Antipodean Opaleye, they typically live in the valleys of Australia and New Zealand. They have a vivid red flame, glittering multicoloured eyes, iridescent, pearly scales and they are naturally the least aggressive breed of dragon. Not only does Charlie tame dragons, he helps to rehabilitate them. Most of the time, he's trying to breed them as their numbers have drastically declined in the last decade, but it's not easy, similar to the Giant Panda situation. Anyway, it's getting late and I need to shower. I'm sure you have better places to be. Remember, you can't tell _anyone_ about me. If you do, I'm likely to be arrested and imprisoned for the rest of my life, keeping magic a secret is imperative for our survival, our numbers have already diminished by thirty-eight percent in the last twenty years."

"What about the Tribal Leaders?" Sam asked.

"Fine," she compromised. "You can tell them, but they can't utter a word to anyone, if they do I'll wipe their memories."

"You can do that?" His eyebrow arched.

"I can, but it's tricky, I could try to remove a ten minute conversation and accidentally remove ten years worth of memories," she shrugged before taking the photograph from Quil, it having been passed around.

Shifting out from beneath the wolf once more, she rose to her feet, approached the pups and cancelled the Silencing Charm.

"Okay, Pups, it's time for you to leave now."

 _'But we don't want to,'_ Brady thought.

 _'Yeah, this book's_ so _cool, it talks about ghosts and giant snakes and spiders and hidden rooms and tournaments,'_ Collin thought and Seth laughed through the mind link.

_'Leah, I'm staying, will you explain to mom please?'_

_'She'll know when she's told about magic.'_

_'No, will you tell her that Hermione's my imprint and make sure they understand that she made a magical contract with us, stating that if she harms anyone from the pack or Tribe, she dies as payment.'_

_'Mom will be happy for you whether she's a witch or not.'_

_'Just make sure she knows,'_ he pressed.

 _'Fine!'_ Snapped Leah.

"I'll make you a deal," Hermione started, crouching before the two wolves, "If you promise me that you won't let anyone but yourselves or your packmates see this book, you can take it with you until you've finished reading it. Then you bring it back and I'll give you another book to read, I have one on magical creatures, it talks about werewolves, vampires, mermaids, centaurs, dragons, hippogriffs, veelas, fairies, pixies, sirens... I could go on all day. Do you agree?" Their large heads nodded quickly, reminding her of a bobble-head. "Off you go then and remember our deal," she spoke, before standing. "Well, I'll likely see you nosing around when I'm duelling a murderer, so, until then, good night," with that, she turned and walked back into her tent.

"Seth, let's go," Sam instructed, the others already making their way behind the trees to change. Seth sat up but stayed put. Sam sighed in defeat, not needing clarification. "Fine, you can stay, just be careful with what you say to her. I believe what she says regarding the contract she made with us, but if you tell her of the imprint, we don't know how she'll react," he warned. Seth nodded in agreement. "Your patrol starts at three," Sam reminded him before he turned and left through the trees.

Seth crossed to the entrance to the tent and he laid down on the floor, content that his imprint was close by.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 10

**Wednesday 24th May 2006**

_‘Seth, Seth, wake up, your patrol’s in fifteen minutes,’_ Jared’s voice entered his mind.

Seth slowly opened his eyes before standing up and stretching his body out, his joints cracking in a strangely satisfying way as he released a wide-mouthed yawn.

 _‘Okay, okay, I’ll be at the checkpoint in five minutes,’_ he replied groggily.

_‘We’ll wait to trade off with you, Embry’s taking over for Paul.’_

Seth stole one final glance at the tent before turning and running into the woods. He didn’t get very far when he heard something he never wanted to hear again. A pained, terrified scream that echoed through the silent woods. His body froze, his insides twisted painfully, his heart snapped in two, his stomach dropped and fear flooded him.

He forgot about patrols and ran, ran back towards the sound and his suspicions were confirmed, they were coming from the tent. Hermione’s tent.

 _‘Seth, what’s that fucking noise? Is it Leech, we haven’t picked up a trail?’_ Paul’s voice entered his mind.

 _‘Hermione!’_ Was his only answer and everything went quiet on the mind link.

Without hesitation, Seth darted into the tent, not bothering to look around but noticing that he could easily fit inside. He followed the screams to a corridor, a door at the end being open and he ran in, skidding to a stop on the wooden flooring. He felt fear course through him at what he saw. Hermione, his beautiful Hermione laid on her bed, tossing and turning with the blankets thrown off her as she screamed and sobbed in her sleep. Her back arched off the bed as if she was in pain, her hair stuck to her sweat-soaked neck and forehead.

 _‘What the fuck’s happening to her?’_ Said Paul.

“NO! IT’S A FAKE, WE DIDN’T STEAL IT! PLEASE, PLEASE DON’T DO IT AGAIN, NO!” Her body shook violently.

 _‘What do I do?’_ Seth panicked, whines and whimpers falling from his mouth and he stepped closer, resting his head on the bed until his cold nose brushed her bare leg, Hermione only wearing flannel shorts and the matching long-sleeved shirt.

She stilled in her shaking and her cries quieted down. He drew away from her, believing she’d calmed and she was much better, however, her cries and screams continued.

“I DON’T KNOW, I DON’T KNOW, STOP, PLEASE!” She begged, pleaded.

Seth whined and touched her once more with his nose and whilst she quieted, she still tossed and turned, her body shaking and arching.

 _‘Seth, it seems you’re the only thing that’s going to stop whatever’s happening to her, you’ll have to stay with her,’_ Jared muttered, obviously being horrified by what he’d seen through Seth’s eyes. _‘I’ll contact Embry, get him to bring Sam to cover for you, he’ll understand. Just stay with her and we’ll see you later.’_

 _‘Thank you,’_ he said, his voice shaking slightly from fear and concern.

 _‘She’s your imprint,’_ was his only reply _._ Seth understood; imprints always came first.

Seth pulled his head away from her and her screams started again but the mind link ended when Seth phased, being his human self. Without thought or care for his current nudity, he pulled the blanket back over her to keep her covered and then he climbed onto her bed, sitting beside her, propped up against her headboard.

His hand reached out, his fingers softly tracing her cheek, it was wet, tears falling and dropping down her throat. Her body ceased in its thrashing at his actions and her screams halted as she silently cried. Seeing her like this, his like he was dying. He had to protect her from whatever it was that was plaguing her, that was causing her so much pain. He needed to feel her in his arms. 

Once again, without care for his current nudity, he shifted until he was laying down on his back and then he reached over to Hermione, gently tugging her closer to him. In her sleep, she turned onto her side and slotted an arm around his waist, her head lifting and resting on his chest, right over his heart. Her body lay calm and still and a few minutes later, the tears halted and her breathing evened out, her heart rate slowing.

Seth’s heart swelled, his chest pooled with love and his hand carefully ran through her hair, he pushed the sweat-soaked curls that stuck to her forehead out of her face and his fingers ruffled the soft curls, making her hair look more untameable but his imprint let out a content sigh and he smiled. He watched her fondly but her ivory skin looked sickly, she was too pale, her eyes were sunken and deep dark purple bruises lived under her eyes.

He frowned. She didn’t have those earlier but by the looks of things, those bruises were caused by weeks of sleep deprivation and not just a single night. What he’d witnessed, did it happen every night? How did she hide her sickly appearance from them?

Her body lightly shook against his and he brought his other hand up and pressed it to her forehead, gauging her temperature. She was cold, her forehead covered in sweat but she was freezing cold.

His unnaturally high temperature would keep her warm but he didn’t want to push his luck in case she woke and found a naked teenage boy in her bed. God! Imagine her reaction; she might break the contract she’d made with them and harm him, causing her own death.

He carefully extracted himself from her and climbed off the bed, finding the bag of spare clothes he carried and he quickly slipped on his boxers and jeans cut off at the knees. Noticing Hermione starting to shift, he quickly made his way back over to her, slipped under the blanket and made himself comfortable before pulling Hermione over to him. Once again, her arm went around him and her head rested on his chest of her own accord, her breathing even and deep as she snuggled into his warmth.

He couldn’t stop himself and he fell asleep with a smile on his face, his imprint in his arms, his hand running through her hair and surrounded by the fresh scent of vanilla and strawberries.

~000~000~000~

Seth was woken by hooting, it was a strange sound but it obviously did its job.

He slowly peeled open his eyes and he startled in surprise to see two owls, both perched on the chair at Hermione’s desk, staring right at him. It was like they were staring into his soul. A shiver ran through his spine before he lowered his gaze seeing that Hermione had shifted in her sleep, and she was practically draped over him. He smiled at her peaceful expression.

His eyes darted about the room, seeing that it was simple and comfortable but still bigger than his own bedroom. When his eyes landed on the clock sat on the wall above the desk, he saw it was a little after six-thirty and he sighed. He had to get home so he could shower and ready for school, the pack would likely be waiting for him, too, wanting answers about the night before.

He hated to do it but he had to leave her. Slowly, he shifted her off him and climbed out of bed before bending and pressing a kiss to her forehead. She sighed softly and a smile pulled at her mouth, her arm reached out, as if searching for him and a large goofy grin appeared on his face, he didn’t need to look in a mirror to know, he could feel it stretching his cheeks.

Satisfied that she was sleeping peacefully, he couldn’t afford to replace his clothing yet again and so he removed his jeans and boxers, shifted and then left Hermione’s tent, carrying them in his mouth and running all the way home.

He had to be careful that he wasn’t seen and when he reached the trees that surrounded his house, he shifted and put his clothes back on. He didn’t care if the others saw him naked, not after the countless times it had happened but his mom and sister, that was where he drew the line. He had no doubt his mom was waiting to talk to him, knowing the pack spoke to the leaders about Hermione and Leah told her about Hermione being his imprint.

He stepped out from the trees and sat on the steps and perched on the railing of the porch were Sam, Jared, Quil, Jacob, Embry and Paul, all lifting their eyes to him when they heard him approaching.

“How is she?” Sam was the first to speak.

“She’s calmer now, I don’t know what it was but I never want to see it again. She seemed to calm when I was near her.”

“I can’t imagine how you felt with her being your imprint, but she scared the shit out of me,” Paul commented, for once in his life, looking sympathetic.

“D’you know what caused it?” Embry questioned, his expression haunted. He’d seen through Jared and Paul what Seth had seen; nothing was secret with the mind link, which meant the others would likely see it too if someone who’d witnessed it were to think about it when they next phased.

“I think it was a nightmare. She was begging someone to stop and she kept repeating that she hadn’t stolen anything,” he frowned.

“Do you think it could be a memory?” Jared asked quietly. They all looked up at him. “Think about it, she told us about her past. We all heard everything she’s seen, experienced and had to do to survive. She’s a soldier, a product of war which no longer exists. What if she’s reliving her past through her memories?”

“Like PTSD?” Jacob offered with a frown.

“Yeah or something similar, it makes sense,” he shrugged.

Seth frowned thoughtfully. “I’ll guess I’ll see if she’s the same tonight. I have to get ready for school, I’ll be out in fifteen minutes,” he spoke, making to head into his house but Quil’s next words halted him in his steps.

“Why’re you covered in blood? Did she hurt you?”

Seth’s eyes darted down to his stomach, alarm filling him when he saw the dried, red smudges.

“It’s not mine, it’s hers! I didn’t notice ‘cause she was wearing red, _fuck_!” He cursed, turning and running for the trees, immediately phasing into his wolf before running to Hermione’s tent.

It didn’t take long for him to reach her and before he jumped over a fallen tree, he immediately felt relief wash through him; he could hear Hermione’s soft voice and he hid behind a tree as she stepped out of the tent.

His heart no longer felt constricted, he didn’t feel sick with fear; he felt relief, complete and utter relief.

She was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, a pair of white converse and the t-shirt she’d shown them the day before. It was flashing between red and orange and the photo of the red-haired man was moving, changing between smiling and pulling a face. She had one owl perched on her arm and the other on her shoulder. She no longer had bags under her eyes and she looked healthy, all of it confusing him.

“Okay, Crystal, I have a letter for you to deliver to the twins for me, I also have one for Ginny, I’m sure George will give it to her, though. Be careful and have a safe flight, I’ll likely see you in a few days. Off you go,” she encouraged. The owl pecked her finger lightly, hooted and then took flight with the two letters.

“Your turn, Terry,” she said, the owl hopping off her shoulder and onto her arm. “Romania’s a long way to travel, please be careful and don’t get sidetracked with catching mice.”

She tied the letter to the owl, it nuzzled her cheek affectionately before hooting and taking flight. He watched as she watched them fly off into the distance and then she turned and headed back into the tent. He felt comfortable in leaving her and quickly made his way back to his house.

The pack were still waiting for him and instead of phasing, he ran straight through the house and into the bathroom in wolf form, which was difficult given the size of him and the size of the door frames. He phased and took the quickest shower of his life before throwing on some clothes, grabbing his backpack and taking food from the fridge.

“Seth, we need to talk about...”

“Sorry, Mom, late for school, we’ll talk later,” he pressed a kiss to her cheek, running out of the house and hopping into the back of the car with Jacob, Quil and Embry, whilst Paul and Jared took Jared’s mom’s car.

~000~000~000~

Hermione woke feeling relaxed, content. It was an odd feeling, a feeling that she hadn’t felt since she was younger, before she’d started Hogwarts. She remembered something, a presence, a calming presence. Then there was something touching her, her cheek and the moment it happened Bellatrix had disappeared from view and the pain was fading, but then it came back tenfold. Why had they stopped touching her? Why weren’t they protecting her from the pain? Bellatrix was torturing her, Greyback was approaching, he was going to hurt her, she needed someone to save her.

But then Greyback disappeared from view, she felt herself being pulled away from the darkness and into something warm and welcoming, something safe. She moved as close as possible, wrapping herself around it to keep it to her. Her head was being touched, her hair tousled and it felt nice, it made her feel loved and cared for. She could hear a sound, a lub-dub, lub-dub, she didn’t try to identify it, she just knew it was comforting and then suddenly, there was no more pain, no more torture, no more darkness. She wasn’t in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor. She was safe.

She was running, running through a meadow, long grass littered with daisies, lavender and wildflowers. It was surrounded by trees, the sun beamed down hotly, straight through the trees, lighting up the meadow.

She felt herself moving before a soft kiss was placed to her forehead and she couldn’t help but sigh and smile. She felt cold and she reached out for the warmth but it didn’t return. Her nightmares didn’t return, either. She was still running through the meadow. Her hair was flying around her as the breeze hit her face, cooling her skin. She heard a playful growl and she laughed loudly before it morphed into a squeak as she felt something collide with her, she tumbled to the ground, laughing.

There was something heavy, pinning her in place. It was a boy and he was looming over her on his elbows. A boy with kind hazel eyes, short black and ruffled hair, russet skin and a large, lopsided smile making him look both handsome and adorable. He looked familiar, Hermione had seen him before, she was sure of it.

“I love you, My Hermione,” he whispered softly before his head lowered and his mouth pressed against hers.

Hermione’s eyes flew open and she bolted upright, searching her surroundings. She was in her bedroom, a frown pulled at her brow. Lowering her gaze, she caught sight of the dried blood staining her white blanket and she sighed in annoyance, climbing from the bed, banishing the quilt cover and bed sheets before retrieving clean ones and she made up her bed. Once done, she headed for the bathroom and stripped off her pyjamas, seeing her ‘Mudblood’ scar that disfigured her left arm had reopened and was spotted with dried blood. Her scar on her chest had opened, too, and her bandages were blood-soaked. She sighed, she _hated_ MPTSD.

She’d been diagnosed with it a few months after the end of the war. She was on potions to help her but there was only so much they could do. Even if she removed her memories of the war, her conscious would still be aware of her past experiences and instead of reliving her memories, they would be nightmares.

She cleaned up the blood before pasting some salve over her two scars and they slowly knitted back together. She then put some Dittany on her injuries from the day before and replaced the bandages, casting an _Impervius_ so they would repel water and then she hopped into the shower, washing away the remainder of blood, salve and sweat.

When she finished, she stepped out of the shower before drying and heading to her room where she quickly dressed in the t-shirt Charlie’d sent her, a pair of black skinny jeans and her white converse and she replaced the Glamour Charm to cover the permanent bags under her eyes. 

She made her way to the kitchen, heating up the kettle for a cup of tea and she busied herself with nibbling on toast. With breakfast finished and being sure to have fed little bite-size pieces to Crystal and Terry, Hermione quickly reread her response to the letters she’d received before slipping them into envelopes. With Crystal perched on her arm and Terry on her shoulder, she stepped out of her tent. She knew she was being watched, she could _feel_ the presence of a shifter nearby but she didn’t let on.

“Okay, Crystal, I have a letter for you to deliver to the twins for me, I also have one for Ginny, I’m sure George will give it to her though. Be careful and have a safe flight, I’ll likely see you in a few days. Off you go,” she encouraged softly and Crystal pecked her finger, hooted and then took flight with her letters. “Your turn, Terry.” He hopped off her shoulder and onto her arm. “Romania’s a long way to travel, please be careful and don’t get sidetracked with catching mice.”

She tied the letter to him, he nuzzled her cheek affectionately before hooting and taking flight. She looked up, watching the owls flying off into the distance and then she turned and headed back into the tent. Grabbing a book from her bookcase, she took a seat on the armchair and flipped open to her bookmarked page, minutes later feeling the presence of the shape-shifter leave her, if she analysed the situation, she would’ve realised that she felt lonely and cold.

~000~000~000~

Later that day, Seth arrived home from school and who was waiting at the door but his mother. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes and laughing; she was so predictable. He had a bet going with the rest of the pack. Jared thought she would wait till dinner, Quil had his money on the next day, Jacob had said half an hour after he arrived home, Paul had bet on an hour and Embry had said two hours. Seth, knowing his mother better than the pack, had said she’d be waiting at the door for him. He, of course, was right and had just won himself fifty dollars.

“Hey, Mom,” he greeted, kissing her cheek and walking past her and into the house, putting his backpack on the kitchen table and going over to the fridge; he was _starving_. She made a few impatient noises and was shuffling on her feet, he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.

“Is there something you needed?” He asked innocently, hiding his smile by taking a gulp from his bottle of water.

She huffed before walking over to him, her five-foot-four frame being dwarfed by his six-foot-one frame. He looked down at her, trying to keep his face passive but she gave a sudden squeal before pulling him into a bone-crushing hug, his water sloshing about in the bottle and spilling onto the floor in a puddle.

God, she was strong!

“Oh, my baby’s imprinted!” She cried.

“Mom, you’re squeezing, even if I do have super strength, it hurts.”

“Oh Goodness,” she jumped back, looking sheepish and tears filled her eyes. “I just can’t believe you imprinted and on a witch, too. Who would’ve thought it, they actually exist?”

“They do, apparently so do ghosts, mermaids, dragons, werewolves, fairies and loads of other things that I’ve never heard of and gave me a headache just thinking about them.”

“Zombies?” She questioned curiously.

“She never mentioned anything about zombies,” he shrugged.

Her small hand encased his wrist and she tugged him towards the kitchen table, nudging him until he took a seat and she took the chair next to him.

“What’s she like? When can I meet her? Billy and Quil would like to meet her, too; they can’t pass judgement on her until they’ve met her. They’re a little worried that she’ll bring danger to the pack.”

Seth’s calm expression turned into a defensive one.

“She would never hurt anyone. She made a magical contract with us, she won’t harm a member of the pack or the Tribe, if she does, she’ll die. I saw the look on her face and I could feel the magic in the air, I saw the golden glow that surrounded her and she clutched at her heart afterwards, like she was in pain. She was telling the truth. I _know_ she was. She’ll die.”

“What will happen to the pack?” She asked softly.

“Nothing, it was a one-way contract. She didn’t make us promise not to hurt her. We could and she wouldn’t be able to defend herself, she’d die either way. She even gave Sam her wand and she’s defenceless without it, just another human. She fought in a _war_ , Mom. She told us her story, she told us everything. She’s suffered and I hate that I can’t protect her from it. She’s been tortured, did they tell you that?” His expression filled with sadness and pain. “I can only imagine the lives she’s saved. She has a Medal of Honour, or at least the magical equivalent of one.”

His mother smiled at him softly. “She sounds like a very special girl.”

“From what I’ve learned so far, she is,” he nodded vehemently. “She had to leave school during the war, she went back when they won and she graduated. We don’t know exactly _why_ she’s here. She just said something happened and I’m dying to know what that is. She received a letter from someone back home and she read it to us. They wrote ‘don’t let him keep you away from us’. Who’s _him_ , Mom? _What_ did he do to her that she had to leave her home? That she had to move halfway around the world? She’s using her abilities to track down criminals that escaped, she’s leading them to her so she can capture them. She promised that she wouldn’t interfere with our work if we didn’t interfere with hers. She made us promise, but what if she gets hurt? How can I just stand by and watch someone kill her? From what she’s told us, all the criminals are wanted for war crimes, murder, rape, torture, what if they hurt her? I can’t just be a spectator; I’d have to help her, even if I risk injury myself.”

“Seth, you have to respect her wishes. From what you’ve told me and what the pack told us yesterday, she’s looking to protect you all from harm. These people that she’s dealing with, she knows them, she knows what they’re capable of and you don’t. Leah told me she fought off two attackers by herself and she had the opportunity to kill one of them, but she cured him.”

“She did, she’s killed before, Mom, not just witches and wizards but werewolves _and_ vampires, she’s killed _twelve_ vampires by herself, that’s more than the pack combined!” He exclaimed.

She chuckled at him. “Leah seemed impressed with her.” Seth looked at her disbelievingly and she laughed lightly. “She must be someone special if Leah sees something in her. Now, tell me about her.”

Seth sighed before he searched his memory, trying to remember everything that she’d divulged the night before and she allowed him the time to gather his thoughts.

“Her name’s Hermione.”

“A pretty name,” she smiled.

“It is,” he agreed with a small smile. “I don’t know how old she is but she said she graduated so I’m guessing eighteen at the most. She’s British, she attended a magic school called Hogwarts, she said it’s hidden from muggles.”

“Muggles?” His mother tipped her head, puzzled.

“Humans that don’t have magic,” he explained.

“Oh,” she cleared her throat. “She attended a school that’s hidden, continue,” she encouraged.

“She’s a good witch, she only uses magic that’s legal. They have their own magical communities and towns, an entire world really.”

“What does that include?” She asked curiously.

“We never asked,” his brow furrowed slightly, “But I do know they have their own government, schools, police force and doctors. We witnessed them treating her and we saw their police,” he shrugged. “She said she’s one of the best Cloakers in her world.”

“Cloaker?” She repeated slowly.

“A witch or wizard that has the ability to hide themselves, if they don’t want to be found, they won’t be. She kept herself and her friends hidden when she was on the run for a year. She was one of the most wanted people in her world due to her fighting against the other side that wanted to kill people like her,” he said proudly. “That’s all I know of her.”

“When can we meet her?”

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “Sam’s told me to be careful, we don’t know how she’ll react to having a shape-shifting wolf claiming his undying love for her. I don’t know how to play this one, but I’ll be careful, maybe just try and be her friend first.” His mother smiled at him softly. “As for Billy and Quil, I don’t know, that’s up to her, I suppose. She told us not to tell anyone but you about her, she said she can be arrested for telling non-magical humans about magic, something to do with the Witch Trials.”

“That makes sense,” she nodded thoughtfully. “Back in those times witchcraft was hated and many were burned at the stake, I understand why it’s illegal for her to reveal her secret, why did she tell you?”

“She said that with us being shape-shifters, we’re magical beings just like her, apparently we belong in her world more than we do here.”

“Why weren’t you home until this morning? I know you had patrols but you didn’t come back before that. I was worried about you.”

“Sorry,” he said guiltily. “I wanted to stay with her, I couldn’t leave her, she was injured and it didn’t feel right leaving her. I fell asleep outside and Jared woke me for patrols. When I was making my way to the checkpoint I heard screaming and when I followed it, it led me to Hermione. Mom, she scared me, I couldn’t breathe, I thought my heart was breaking,” he said fearfully and she held his hand gently, assuringly.

“What happened?” She asked him softly.

“She was screaming, begging someone to stop and she kept saying that she hadn’t stolen anything. Her entire body shook, she tossed and turned and her body kept arching off her bed. When I touched her she calmed and but when I pulled away from her she started again. Jared and Paul saw through the mind link, they saw her like that. Jared told Embry and Sam covered for me. I stayed with her all night, she didn’t wake once, she slept in my arms and she looked peaceful and calm. Whatever it was I was able to protect her from it. Jared thinks it’s PTSD.”

“She fought in a war, yes?”

“Yeah, from the way she described things it was a horrific one, one that took many lives.”

“All wars are,” she said softly. “And it may be PTSD,” she agreed.

“I’m going to check on her tonight and see if it happens again.”

“Where is she staying?”

“In the woods, she has a magical tent that’s bigger on the inside. Mom, it’s literally a house!”

She laughed softly, shaking her head.

“Don’t worry, Seth, everything will come together and I can’t wait to meet her, I’d love to see some magic.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 6

**Thursday 1st June 2006**

A week and a half later and Hermione hadn’t had any interaction with the shape-shifters, nor had she had a run-in with another Death Eater. She spent her days reading or working on her potions, altering some to see the effects it would have or trying to improve others. Her nights she spent tossing and turning, her memories plaguing her, Bellatrix haunting her but then it changed.

She would feel that same comforting presence touching her face lovingly and ruffling her hair gently. She would snuggle up to the warmth, keeping it to her and refusing to let go. The presence, it would banish her memories to the back of her mind and replace it with a dream.

A dream of running through a beautiful meadow whilst being chased by a playful growl before she tumbled to the ground. A boy, that same boy from before would loom over her with a lopsided grin on his face and his hazel eyes shining. He would declare his love for her before kissing her and it was at that point she would wake. It was always the same dream, the same boy and the same feelings would flood her. Safety, calm, love. She couldn’t explain it, it was odd.

During the day, she would take a break from her lab or reading and take a nap, Dolohov’s curse had affected her metabolism and as a result, she grew tired far more easily and therefore she had to eat almost triple the amount of food she usually would, if she didn’t, she could fall into a coma. She currently ate more than Fred, George and Charlie combined. It only made it worse when they were on the run and they ran out of food, she didn’t know how she’d survived that but she thanked every God she knew.

During her naps, she would dream of a large wolf with soft, thick sandy-coloured fur and hazel brown eyes. Sometimes, she was in the meadow reading aloud with the wolf curled up in a ball, his head on her lap whilst she ran her fingers through his fur. Sometimes, it was running through the woods, chasing the beam of light Hermione was controlling with her wand whilst she sat in a tree, high above the ground. And other times, they were sat on a beach, the sun setting before them and the waves crashing against the cliff face. The wolf would be laying down, his head resting on his paws and Hermione would be laying on the sand with her upper body and head propped up against the wolf’s larger, warmer form.

Hermione would always wake from her naps feeling relaxed, happy, even. It was puzzling to her. She didn’t believe in divination but even she knew that prophetic dreams did happen and they happened often, Harry was a testament to that. She wasn’t sure what to make of her dreams but she knew that she shouldn’t ignore them, they were trying to tell her something but she wasn’t quite sure what that was.

It was getting dark and Hermione readied for bed, dressed in her flannel bottoms and a t-shirt. She had a few suspicions and she created a plan. That night she would see if they were true. She climbed into bed and cast a charm on herself, a charm that would force her to wake the moment she started screaming in her sleep.

She settled down and closed her eyes and soon enough she was sleeping, it wasn’t long before her memories came back to haunt her. She was screaming, she was being tortured and pain radiated through her entire body, she couldn’t stop it, she screamed.

She bolted awake, tears pouring down her face and her body shaking. She took beep breaths before wiping her tears away and she climbed out of bed. Luckily, her wounds had only just opened and so she hadn’t stained her bedding yet again. She summoned some Dittany and covered her arm and chest before cleaning away the blood, then she pulled her hair into a mess on top of her head and laid back down on her side, facing away from the bedroom door.

It wasn’t a long wait as she heard her door being pushing open and paws passing against her floor. Her breath caught, she slowly sat up and faced the wolf. The wolf with sandy fur and hazel eyes. It was her wolf.

“I knew you were real,” she whispered. “It’s you. You’re _my_ wolf.”

~000~000~000~

It had been a week and a half since he’d found his imprint and he’d yet to interact with her whilst she was awake. He didn’t want to scare her, so for now, he settled on being there for her every night when she needed him. And to his horror, it was _every_ night that she screamed herself hoarse, it was every night that she tossed and turned, that she begged for someone to stop doing whatever it was that pained her.

Sam had understood that he needed to be with Hermione and so he’d changed the patrol schedule, usually, he had the last watch of the night but now he had the second watch. He would leave home a little before nine o’clock and patrol for about an hour and a half until it was time for him to swap. Instead of heading home to sleep, he would head straight to Hermione’s tent and he would wait. He didn’t have to wait long, it was like clockwork, he had come to realise that Hermione’s screams started in-between twelve and one in the morning.

The moment the heartbreaking sound flittered to his ears, he would enter the tent and quickly phase, pulling on his boxers and jeans and then climb into her bed. He would pull her over to him and she would immediately wrap herself around him and rest her head over his heart. He would keep her close to him and she would snuggle into his warmth whilst he ran his hand through her hair and he would fall asleep and by some miracle, wake before seven every morning. He would reluctantly untangle himself from Hermione, press a kiss to her forehead and she would smile and sigh, her hand reaching out for him and with a smile, he would quickly remove his clothes and phase, running home to ready for school and have breakfast with his mother.

He expected that night to be the same.

He heard it, screams echoing through the woods and their checkpoint was close to Hermione’s tent so the others could hear it. too.

 _‘Go on, Kid, go to her, she needs you,’_ Jacob said. He was trading off with Quil, whilst he, himself, traded off with Paul.

 _‘I’ll see you at school,’_ Seth replied, already running to her.

When he reached her tent he halted to a stop; something was different. He couldn’t hear Hermione screaming. He cautiously moved forward, entering her tent. It still amazed him when he saw the inside of it, it was simple and comfortable, it was homey, but he couldn’t understand _how_ it was bigger on the inside and he didn’t try to.

He padded down the corridor and Hermione’s door was closed over so he pushed it open with his nose and stepped into the room, stopping at the side of her bed. Hermione was laid on her side facing away from him and he tilted his head in confusion. Suddenly, she sat up and looked straight at him. His breathing stopped and his stomach dropped.

 _‘Oh shit!’_ He thought in alarm.

_‘Seth?’_

_‘She’s awake!’_

_‘Ah, that’s problematic.’_

_‘You don’t say, Paul.’_ He snapped.

“I knew you were real,” she whispered, her gaze locked on him. “It’s you. You’re _my_ wolf.”

His heart fluttered at her words.

“I can’t actually believe you’re real,” she breathed out before she tilted her head to the side and looked at him thoughtfully. “I’ve seen you before, you look familiar, you were here when I met the rest of the pack, weren’t you? You’re not the female or one of the pups, you’re the other one, the one that sat with me, aren’t you?”

Seth slowly and hesitantly nodded his large head.

A small smile pulled at her mouth and she shifted over in bed, patting the mattress beside her in invitation. Surprise but happy with the development, he took the invitation and stepped up onto the bed, sitting down before her. The bed creaked under his weight, in danger of breaking but she didn’t seem to care.

She gradually rose onto her knees and the blanket fell from her lap before she slowly lifted her hand and knowing what she wanted and wanting nothing more than to have her touch him, he lowered his head in invitation, her hand running through his fur, scratching behind his ear and a purr-like nose fell from him. Her smile widened.

“I can’t believe you’re real,” she whispered in awe.

Before he knew what was happening, she’d leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him and her cheek pressed to his soft fur. He was a little surprised but more than happy with the development and he lowered his head so that it pressed against her back, almost as if he was hugging her back.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for stopping them from hurting me. I know it’s your doing and I don’t know how you do it, but thank you for saving me.”

He let out a purring sound in response.

 _‘Is everything alright?’_ Jacob asked him.

 _‘So good so far,’_ he replied.

He felt her remove her arms from around him and though he didn’t like it, he moved back from her. She laid down with the blanket covering her and he laid down, too, his body taking up almost the entire bed but she didn’t seem to mind. He rested his head on his paws, their gazes locking, hazel to chocolate.

“I’ve dreamed about you,” she admitted, her statement surprised him, it made him elated. “Every day I have to take a nap, it’s a consequence of the war. My body grows tired easily and I have to eat three times my usual amount now. If I don’t, I could end up in a coma,” she confessed. He felt anger swarm him at her words, at her suffering. “But during my naps, I used to relive my memories but now I don’t. Ever since the night I met your pack, I dream about _you_ ,” she said softly with a smile on her face. She moved closer to him, her nose almost touching his and she lifted her hand and scratched the side of his head, he nuzzled her hand and listened to her, entranced by her soft voice.

“You keep my memories away. Instead, I dream about you. Sometimes we’re on the beach, watching the sunset and the waves crashing against the cliffs. Sometimes we’re in a meadow and the sun’s shining on us. I’m reading a book to you whilst you lay with your head in my lap, dozing. And other times we’re in the woods. I’m sat in a tree and I’m using my wand to create a beam of light that you so diligently try to catch, but never do. It’s like you’re an over-excited puppy,” she chuckled softly.

“I know you come here every night. I don’t know how but you pull me from the darkness, you show me the light, the warmth. I can feel you touching me, I can feel you playing with my hair, I’m guessing you’re the reason it’s so tangled when I wake,” she laughed. “I can hear a noise, it took me a while to identify it but I know what it is now. It’s your heartbeat. I can hear it and it calms me. I can feel when you pull me to you and I can feel it when you kiss my forehead. Then you leave and everything goes cold again, the darkness sets in and they come for me. I usually wake at that point,” her eyes were closed, her hand still resting against the side of his head, buried in his fur.

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open and then she tilted her head slightly and placed a gentle kiss to his nose. His heart swelled and beat faster, his chest pooled with love and he could feel his body shiver whilst a purr left him without his consent.

His imprint giggled and he sighed at the sound.

“I don’t know how I can ever thank you for what you’ve done for me. Thanks to you, I can sleep at night. Nothing else works. Nothing the Healers have given me: medication, potions, spells, rituals, meditation, it’s only _you_. Your presence alone calms me.”

Silence fell as they stared at one another, the minutes ticking by far too quickly for his liking.

“I’ve been dreaming about something else, when you stop her from hurting me, I dream about something else. Something that makes me feel safe and happy. I want to see if my suspicions are right, change back.” His eyes widened. “Please, change back,” she whispered, drawing back from him and pushing into a sitting position. His eyes searched hers before he slowly climbed off the bed, it making a noise of relief for not having to support his weight and he left her bedroom, heading to the living room.

 _‘I’m changing back, she wants to see me,’_ he informed the others on patrol. 

_‘Good luck, Kid,’_ Jacob offered.

 _‘You’re going to need it,’_ Paul thought. _‘Especially after the way Kim and Emily freaked out when they found out.’_

He changed back, ending the mind link and pulled on his boxers and jeans. He paced for a couple of minutes, his thoughts running a mile a minute, being on the verge of a panic attack. What if she didn’t like him? What if she was mad at him for sleeping next to her in his human form? What if she tried to use magic against him? He didn’t care if she hurt him, what bothered him was that _she_ would die.

 _Breathe, Seth, breathe,_ he reminded himself.

Upon the realisation he’d been gone a while, he steeled himself for whatever he was about to face and he walked back into her bedroom, his hand tapping against his leg in a nervous gesture.

She was lying on her back, looking up at the ceiling but when she heard him enter, her head turned and her eyes widened before she sat up. He crossed over to the bed, stopping beside it nervously, not knowing what to do or say. Silently, she climbed to her knees and shifted to the edge of the mattress, closing the distance between them until they were almost touching. With the added height of the bed, she was taller than him and she stared down at him, her eyes soft and large, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheekbones with each blink and he was mesmerised by it.

She brought her hand up and touched his forehead, gently trailing her fingertips down his nose, over his cheekbones before trailing them over his cheeks and he couldn’t help but lean into the soft and explorative touch. Her fingertips next travelled over his chin and across his jawbone, down his neck and back up to his cheeks before she trailed her index finger over his lips and his mouth parted, little puffs of air escaping and his heart rate increasing.

A breathtaking smile lit her face and he felt relief flood through him. She wouldn’t smile like that if she were going to react badly.

“I knew it was you,” she whispered. “You’re the one from the beach, the one I ran into... Seth.” His heart fluttered; _she remembered him_. “I’ve dreamt about you. When you save me from them, you take their place.”

“How?” He whispered, not wanting to startle her out of the daze she seemed to be in.

“We’re in a meadow. I’m running, laughing and you’re chasing me. I hear a growl and then you crash into me, sending me flying to the floor. I can’t stop laughing and you start laughing, which only makes me laugh harder. I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in my life. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as happy or safe as I did in my dreams. _Who_ are you?”

“I’m yours,” he spoke before he could stop the words from leaving him.

“You don’t even know me,” she whispered.

This was it. It was now or never.

“I imprinted on you.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 8

**Thursday 1st June 2006**

She looked puzzled, her head tilted to the side, a thoughtful look appeared on her face, her forehead crinkled and she bit her lip absentmindedly. She looked adorable.

“What’s that? Is it something shape-shifters do?”

He should’ve known she’d figure it out.

“Yes.”

“What is it?” 

“It’s difficult to explain.”

“Please try, I want to know.”

He frowned thoughtful, his mind trying to find the best way to explain it without over or underselling the value of the bond. 

“The first thing you need to know is that it’s a rare occurrence, it’s already happened to three of my packmates, four including myself and that’s never been seen before. The second thing is that we can’t control it. It happens upon first sight. The moment I saw you I was yours. You are my everything. You are the air I breathe, the gravity keeping me to earth, the light in the darkness. I live to hear you laugh, to see you smile, to see you happy. I am and will be anything and everything you need me to be. If you need a friend, a brother, a protector or a lover, I will be that to make you happy. I will be happy knowing that you’re happy. If anything were to happen to you I wouldn’t survive it, I would die without you in my life,” he confessed. There, everything was out in the open, she held all the cards now. “I know it sounds crazy but...”

“No,” she interrupted softly, her eyes locked with his. “It’s not crazy. I understand.”

“You do?” Both of his eyebrows rose high in surprise.

“Yes, I am your mate. Werewolves, vampires, veelas, sirens... They all have mates. That one person that completes them, that they live for, their one true love. They were literally _born_ to be together, it was fated. It’s extremely rare for a werewolf or siren to find their mate, and they live life as normal. I had a friend, Remus Lupin, he was a werewolf. He was bitten when he was four-years-old,” she started, his eyes widening at the news. “He was the kindest man I have ever met, there wasn’t a mean bone in his body. Don’t get me wrong, he was dangerous on the full moon and his mood swings were downright hard to keep up with, but he was a truly kind person. Most werewolves are killers, murderers, _monsters_ but Remus wasn’t. He fought for our side, he fought in the First and Second War and he was best friends with Harry’s father, James. He found his mate my sixth year, her name was Nymphadora Tonks, she was an Auror and the clumsiest person you could’ve met. She was a Metamorphmagus, she was born with the rare ability to change her appearance at will. She was Remus’ mate and they met at an Order of the Phoenix meeting. It took them a year to finally get together but when they did, they were amazing together. I have never seen two people more suited to each other.”

“What happened to them?”

“They got married and they had to keep it quiet, there’s a lot of prejudice against werewolves, it’s why most become monsters. Werewolves aren't allowed to marry, or adopt, they’re not allowed to enter hospitals or receive medical treatment unless they can find someone to do it privately. They’re not allowed to own businesses or even have a bank account,” she said unhappily and he felt disgusted at their lack of basic human rights. “Tonks fell pregnant during the war and she gave birth to a beautiful little boy in April, Teddy Remus Lupin, he’s a Metamorphmagus, too. The Final Battle happened 2nd May 2004, she was at the Final Battle, not even a month after giving birth; she was an amazing woman. Both Remus and Tonks died, leaving Teddy an orphan and in the care of his Grandmother.” Sadness filled her features and he felt the need to pull her to him but he refrained. “My point is, we have similar situations to yours in my world, so I believe you and I understand. I am just sorry that it was me.”

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” His voice rose a little in surprise, confusion.

“I’m not worthy of such loyalty, devotion, protection,” she spoke, tearing her eyes from him and looking down at the mattress. “I have problems, issues. I have a past. I have scars, I have major baggage, and you don’t deserve to be stuck with someone like me.”

“No,” he said quickly, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and pulling her to him. Her arms automatically went around his neck and her head to his shoulder as he clutched her to his chest in a desperate hug. “You’re an amazing person, Hermione. You’re a protector, a fighter, you fought in a war and saved lives, probably more than I can count. I’ve seen your kindness, the way you were with Collin and Brady, how you protected them from the darker parts of your life.”

“The pups?” She questioned softly.

“Yeah, the pups. I’ve seen how strong you are, I saw you take down _two_ war criminals by yourself. I was there; I wanted to kill them for hurting you. The others practically barricaded me in and they wouldn’t let me help you. I saw how you healed that man, you could’ve let him die but you didn’t. I’m sure there’s more to learn about you, more to discover; you’re a mystery that I can’t wait to unravel.”

“I don’t deserve it.”

“Yes, you _do_. You’re a hero and I get the feeling that you’ve been taking care of people your whole life and now it’s time for you to be taken care of.”

“What’s your name?” She asked randomly, apparently wishing to change the topic of conversation.

“Seth,” he answered, confused.

“No, your _full_ name?”

He felt a smile tug at his mouth; she wanted to know more about him.

“Seth Harry Clearwater. What’s yours?”

“Hermione Jean Granger. So, Seth Harry Clearwater, guess what.”

“What?”

“I’m a Muggleborn witch that went to a magical school, fought in a war and is now catching war criminals.”

He laughed at her.

“Well, Hermione Jean Granger, guess what/”

“What?” He felt her smile against his shoulder.

“I’m a shape-shifter. I turn into a giant wolf and hunt and kill vampires by night, by day I’m a high school student.”

“How exciting,” she said cheerily and he laughed at her.

She unfolded her arms from around him and pulled away from him. He was disappointed until she laid back down under the blankets and gestured for him to do the same and he suppressed a smile before shifting into bed under the covers, laying on his side and facing her.

She lifted her hand and held it up and he knowingly brought his up and she took it, entwining their fingers together. He felt a shiver go through him, his insides tingled and goosebumps broke out.

“Can you feel it? The tingling?” She whispered.

“Yes, I can.”

“That’s my magic reacting to you. When I touched your Alpha, Sam, I think?” He nodded. “When I touched Sam I felt tingling, but not like this. My soul’s vibrating, it’s like there’s a flame inside of me and when I touch you, it flares up into a raging fire. I feel calm yet stressed, exhausted yet energetic. I feel strong yet weak.” He smiled at her. “When’s your birthday?” she asked him.

“December 9th, I’m sixteen, soon to be seventeen. You?”

“19th September, I’m eighteen, soon to be nineteen.”

“What’s your favourite colour?” He asked her.

“That’s a difficult question to answer; I like my reds and golds since I’m a Gryffindor, and I like blues and purples, they’re calming. What’s yours?”

“I don’t really know, I guess I’d say dark blue. What’s a Gryffindor?”

“Do you remember when I told you that my school was founded a thousand years ago by four of the most powerful witches and wizards to have existed?” He nodded. “They were Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Godric Gryffindor. The school was split into four houses, one named after each founder. This house would be your family. Your housemates all shared a common room and dorm rooms. When we arrive at Hogwarts our first year there’s a sorting feast, a magical hat decides which house a student belongs to for the duration of their seven year stay at Hogwarts. Each house has certain personality traits that the founder had themselves or valued. Slytherin’s emblem was a serpent and their colours were green and silver. The traits were cunning, self-preservation, ambition and resourcefulness. Ravenclaw’s emblem was an eagle and their colours were blue and bronze. The traits were intelligence, wit, a love for learning and value of knowledge. Hufflepuff’s emblem was a badger and their colours were yellow and black. The traits were kindness, loyalty, hard-working and patience. Finally Gryffindor, the emblem’s a lion and the colours are red and gold. The traits are bravery, chivalrousness, daring and a distinct lack of knowledge on self-preservation and danger,” she listed and he chuckled at her. “I’m a proud Gryffindor, as was Harry and the entire Weasley family. What food can’t you live without?”

“ _Everything_ ,” he answered honestly and she laughed at him. “I’m being serious; it’s an effect of being a shape-shifter. Our appetites are through the roof, we’re constantly eating and we’re always hungry.”

“That makes sense; it must require a lot of energy for you to shift, especially if you’re doing it every day. Your body needs to replace the lost energy stores. You should eat plenty of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. That’s what I do, oh, and I eat a lot of sugar, half of my food supplies are mostly sugar.”

He snorted. “What food can’t you live without?” He echoed. 

“I’m going to say Sugar Quills.”

“What?”

“It’s a wizarding candy, they’re my favourite. It’s basically candy in the shape of a quill, made entirely out of sugar. Harry’s not allowed them, he goes on a sugar rush and it’s not a pretty sight or experience,” she shivered and he laughed at her.

“What’s your favourite movie?” he asked her.

“I don’t have one. I actually haven’t watched the TV or a movie since I was eleven.”

He gawked at her. “You’re kidding?”

“Nope, we don’t have TVs in the Wizarding World. We don’t have anything electrical.”

“Why not?”

“It short circuits,” she shrugged. “I told you Hogwarts was hidden from muggles by magic, if a plane were to fly over Hogwarts, the radar systems would stop working, as would the radio and any communication devices. I remember this first year Muggleborn, she brought a laptop to school with her and it exploded before she’d even got on the train in London. Mobile phones, microwaves, computers, lights, stereos, TVs, you name it and it won’t work around magic. It’s why I only have a kettle and a gas oven in my kitchen, otherwise, I just use Heating Charms,” she shrugged.

“That must be difficult, to grow up with technology and not be able to use it.”

“Not really, I prefer books to TV anyway, but we have our own entertainment. We have wizard’s chess, in which the pieces move themselves and destroy each other, too, it’s quite barbaric actually. Children play outdoors and they fly on their brooms or play Quidditch. We have our own sports and leagues and even a World Cup. And we have games such as gobstones which is similar to marbles, and we have exploding snap, in which, the cards explode in your face if you mess up, resulting in soot-covered faces and singed eyebrows.” He chuckled at her. “It’s not as bad as you’d think it’d be, I prefer the Wizarding World to the Muggle World. Here, I’m a freak but there I’m normal, I’m accepted by most, especially now the war’s over.” 

“Have you caught anymore Death Eaters?”

“Not since the night we met, if they come, they come, if they don’t they’re smart.” He snorted. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Yeah, Leah, she’s the female wolf you pointed out. She’s older than me, twenty-two. Do you have any siblings?”

“No, not blood-related anyway, I have plenty of pseudo brothers and sisters, I grew up with them, Molly and Arthur Weasley practically raised Harry and I. There’s Bill and his wife Fleur, he’s nine years older than me, Charlie’s seven years older than me, Percy’s four years older than me, Fred and George are two years older than me and Ginny’s a year younger than me.”

“I thought you had a friend called Ron,” his brow furrowed slightly and the moment the words left his mouth, she tensed, her grip on his hand tightened and he saw anger cross fill her features.

“I did, he’s no longer my friend, not after what he did to me.”

“Hermione?” He started carefully, not wanting to offend her but wanting to know why she’d left England, aside from tracking and capturing war criminals. “Why are you here? In that letter you got it said ‘don’t let him keep you away’. Who’s he and what did he do?”

Her eyes closed and she sighed tiredly.

“I dated Ronald dated after the war and three months into our relationship articles about our lives together, our sexual exploits started popping up in newspapers and magazines, the only people that knew about those things were myself and Ronald, and I never divulged anything about our relationship to anyone. Ronald and I were very different, I stayed away from the press, I avoided them as much as I could and being back at school helped with that. Ronald sought them out and he loved being the centre of attention. As I was of age and technically an eighth year, I had privileges the seventh years and below didn’t have; I was allowed to go home at the weekends. I was living with Ronald and his family, as was Harry.”

“Every weekend Ronald insisted we go out for dinner or that we go to a club, I just wanted to have a quiet weekend but he’d drag me out so he could get his face on the front page. It caused arguments. Two months later, photos of Ronald starting cropping up in newspapers, he was drinking and dancing with other women, women that were barely dressed. I confronted him and he said they were taken out of context so I believed him. He was my boyfriend and before that my best friend of seven years, what reason did he have to lie to me?”

She kept her gaze locked on their clasped hand as it lay cushioned on the pillow between them.

“I graduated Hogwarts 31st March and Harry and Mr. Weasley came to the ceremony as planned but Ronald was missing. When we got home, I knew he was on the grounds somewhere and I went looking for him. I found him having sex with another woman in the treehouse,” she said, her voice quiet but not broken and he stared in surprise. “It was his ex-girlfriend, Lavender. Do you know what he did when he realised I was there?” She lifted her gaze, her eyes burning with anger. “He pulled out a ring and proposed to me. He’d literally been in the middle of shagging another woman and then he proposed to me. The best part, we’d been dating for nine months and he’d been sleeping with Lavender for seven _and_ she was almost three months pregnant.”

“Oh My God,” he muttered, it being the only response he could manage.

“My thoughts exactly,” she laughed humorously. “And those women I saw him with in the newspaper and magazines, he slept with them all, too and lied to me. I wanted to kill the Little Weasel, I wanted to hex him but I didn’t. I outted him to his family and they were furious, some of them more so than I was. I moved out of his parents’ house and in with the twins. They’ve been getting revenge for me,” her mouth twitched.

“How?”

“Fred and George are the best pranksters in Europe and they have their own magical pranking business, on that’s highly popular and they receive visits and customers from all the around the world. They’re geniuses, two of the smartest people I’ve ever met and they create all of their own products, and they’ve also expanded their product line with their own patented line of fireworks and beauty products. They’ve got some products that are in the testing phase and are using Ronald as their guinea pig. They sent me a photo the other day, they’d slipped a new prank sweet into his not-so-secret stash; he grew donkey ears, a tail and his teeth and nose grew,” she laughed lightly. “And he’s terrified of spiders so they put spells on his office at work and the moment he stepped through the door, all the furniture transfigured into thousands of little spiders. Harry said it was brilliant; he was chased down the corridors by spiders and it even ended up on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ ”.

“You already know the rest,” she shrugged lightly. “Unfortunately, Ronald can’t seem to understand that I want nothing to do with him and he hasn’t stopped sending me letters, expressing his love and wishing for me to forgive him so we can move on and get married, and his mother’s not helping either, all her letters basically say I need to get over it and start wedding planning. The others know which State I’m in and only Harry and the Minister know my coordinates. If Ron finds out, he’ll come for me which is why we’re all so careful.”

“I’m so sorry, Hermione,” he spoke softly. “You didn’t deserve that.”

She shrugged slightly. “I obviously didn’t matter as much to him as I thought I did. I wasn’t enough for him and to be honest, I’m not all that bothered about our breakup, it’s the lies. It’s that he had the audacity to lie straight to my face, it’s that he betrayed me, embarrassed me. They call me the Brightest Witch of my Age, and yet I couldn’t see that my boyfriend was shagging most of Wizarding Britain behind my back. I gave him the chance to tell the truth and the moment he lied to me is the moment seven years of friendship went down the drain. But, to be honest, I’m kind of glad he cheated on me, you know? If I hadn’t caught him I would’ve likely been engaged by now and I never would’ve realised that I didn’t love him, not in the way I should’ve.”

He stared at her as her eyes darted back to gazing at their entwined hands and her mouth twitched. He wished he knew what she was thinking.

“I’m tired,” she sighed, her eyes fluttering closed.

“Go to sleep,” he encouraged.

“Are you staying?” She mumbled.

“Always,” he promised and smile pulling at her mouth in response.

He shifted onto his back and this time he didn’t have to pull her to him, she went willingly, wrapping herself around him and sighing happily.

“You’re warm,” she muttered, her voice barely understandable.

“It’s a perk of being a shifter. My body temperature runs at one hundred and eight degrees, I don’t feel the cold.”

“I like it,” she snuggled further into him. “I’m always cold, see?” She pressed her hand against his chest and he startled at the coldness of her skin.

“Why are your hands freezing?” He asked with a frown of concern, bringing his free hand up to hold hers, his heat helping to warm her skin..

“It’s a side effect of the torture,” she muttered tiredly and his body. “My blood has trouble circulating my body which means I get cold easily. I’m on medication, likely for the rest of my life.”

“What else?”

“Not now, I’ll tell you later,” she promised. “But you have to tell me more about being a shifter, I know each shifter has different abilities.”

He smiled at her curiosity. “Later,” he promised.

“You’re sure you’re staying?”

“Always, I’d follow you to the end of the world.”

“You’d have to find me first,” she quipped.

He laughed at her. “I’d always find you, I have my ways.”

“That’s good to hear, I’ve become rather fond of you, even if it’s only because of my dreams and your presence keeping me safe.”

God, was it possible to love her any more? He knew one thing for certain, as his imprint fell asleep in his arms, his life would never be dull and he would protect her. He would protect her from her past and from her ex-boyfriend, the one that couldn’t seem to leave her alone. If he ever found her, he would have something to say, that’s for sure.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 8

**Friday 2nd June 2006**

Seth woke to find that once again, Hermione had slept peacefully. She’d moved slightly in her sleep, practically being draped over him and clinging to him in every way possible. A small smile pulled at her mouth, he noticed the bruises under her eyes didn’t appear to be as dark and there was no blood, thankfully.

Seeing that it was a little before seven o’clock, he sighed, knowing he had to get home so he could get ready for school and as much as he didn’t want to, he shifted from beneath Hermione and climbed out of bed, pressing a kiss to her forehead and having the breath knocked out of him when he pulled away.

“Seth,” Hermione sighed in her sleep, her hand reaching out towards him. “Don’t leave me,” she mumbled.

Was it possible to die from loving someone so much?

A large, goofy grin lit his face and he couldn’t wipe it off if he tried. He bent down and kissed her forehead one last time before quickly removing his clothing and phasing, running home in wolf form as now was routine. He showered and dressed before grabbing some food, picking up his backpack and then he left the house with a skip in his step and the idiotic grin still on his face as he whistled to himself.

The pack -except for Leah, Brady and Collin- were all waiting outside for him and when they saw him emerge and his expression, some of them smirked and the others outright laughed at him but it didn’t deter him; he’d never been so happy.

“I take it she took it well,” Jacob arched an eyebrow amusedly. 

“Very well,” Seth nodded like a bobble-head and they sniggered.

“Really, she didn’t faint?” Jared asked surprised. “Kim did.”

“And Emily,” Sam added.

“No, I didn’t even have to explain it to her, she said they have something similar in her world, I think she understands the imprinting process better than I do at this point,” he confessed. “She told me about this friend she had, a werewolf, and he had a mate and they both fought alongside her. They had a baby three weeks before the war ended.”

“What happened to them?” Jared asked curiously.

“They died, the child’s in the care of the Grandmother,” he said with a frown and they all looked troubled at the news.

“What’s got you so happy?” Embry changed the subject.

“Aside from the fact that she didn’t freak out that I’ve attached myself to her for the rest of my life and I couldn’t survive without her?” He offered and they snorted at him. “She didn’t hurt me for staying with her at night without her knowledge,” he shrugged. “She’s dreams about me.”

“Yeah?” Paul wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Not like _that_ ,” Seth scowled at him as sniggers sounded from the rest of his packmates. “She told me that when she sleeps, she relives her memories from the war but when I get there after patrols, she dreams of me. She said I keep them away, I stop them from hurting her...” They all glanced at one another. “She dreams of me in my wolf form, last night, she knew who I was _before_ I’d even changed back. She was awake because she wanted to know if I was real of something she’d imagined.”

“That’s strange, her knowing your identity as a specific wolf before she’d even seen it herself, it’s even stranger that she dreams of you,” Sam spoke thoughtfully. “Emily’s never dreamed of me before.”

“Kim’s never dreamed of me either,” Jared nodded.

“Maybe it’s a witch thing,” Quil offered with a shrug.

“Did you finally ask her why she moved here? We know it’s been bothering you for a while,” Embry asked.

His kind features filled with fury and they all flinched back in surprise, having not expected it.

“Yeah, she dated her friend Ron after the war. They were together for about nine months,” he answered unhappily.

“What’d he do? Break up with her? If he did, it’s his loss, she’s hot,” Paul shrugged.

“No,” Seth sent him a less than pleased glance for his commented but Paul didn’t seem bothered. “He sold stories on their _relationship_ to the press,” he grumbled, starting to pace back and forth agitatedly, missing their surprised by concerned glances as they watched him as if he were a caged animal. “Articles started appearing in the newspapers and magazines of him with other girls dancing and drinking, she confronted him but he denied everything and she believed him. When he didn’t turn up to her graduation ceremony and she got him, she lived with him and his family and she went looking for him. She found him having sex with his ex-girlfriend,” a snarl ripped from the back of his throat. “That’s not it either, the best part is he’d been sleeping with her for seven months and he’s gotten her pregnant...” Splutters and coughs sounded in surprise. “And when Hermione caught him, he pulled his pants up from around his ankles, pulled out a ring and proposed to her! She’d just caught him cheating on and he proposed to her!” He hit one of the wooden posts on the railing of the porch and it splintered in half, the sound ringing in their ears. “She moved out and in with those twins she got a letter from. She didn’t stay long before she moved here. She’s hiding from him and his mother, they keep sending her letters saying that they’re still getting married and they need to plan the wedding, she just had to forgive him...” He trailed off, his pacing slowing but not stopping.

“Well, shit!” Paul broke the silence that had fallen around them after his angry outburst. “No wonder, she hates him. _I_ hate him and I’ve never met the guy.”

Seth seemed to ignore him as he ran a hand through his hair.

“If he finds her, if he comes for her I’m going to _kill_ him for what he did to her,” Seth promised, his face set hard, his hands clenched into tight fists and his body lightly shaking.

“I’m not sure she’ll appreciate that,” quipped Jared, trying to lighten the mood. “Besides, _if_ he finds her, I’m sure she has some magic up her sleeve waiting for him.”

At Jared’s words, Seth halted in his pacing and his expression seemed to calm as a snort of amusement left him.

“Not just her, the twins she lived with, she told me they’ve been getting revenge on Ron for her, regardless of the fact he’s their little brother. They turned him into a human-donkey hybrid and he’s apparently terrified of spiders.”

“And?” Embry prompted.

Seth barked a laugh. “They snuck into his office at work and used magic to spell everything in the room to turn into spiders when he stepped inside. Apparently her friend Harry said it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen with Ron being chased down the corridors by a hoard of spiders, _and_ , it ended up front-page news.”

“That’s brilliant,” Jared commented through a laugh. “Remind me to never piss that imprint of yours off, especially if she has people like that willing to enact revenge on her behalf.

~000~000~000~

Later than night, once Seth had finished patrols he headed to Hermione’s tent but was surprised by the silence that surrounded the tent, and rather than screams and cries, he heard a rustling, like the sound a book made when the pages were turned. He entered the tent in wolf form and made his way to Hermione’s room and when he stepped inside, it was to see Hermione lying on her bed on her stomach, her legs were crossed and swaying back and forth in the air as she read a book and absentmindedly twirled a curl around her finger.

She was wearing pink silk shorts and the matching long-sleeved button-up shirt; not only did it make her ivory skin look flawless, he could see her seemingly never ending legs. She was a sight to behold and he found himself taking in the scene with a dry mouth as he committed it to memory.

 _‘Fucking hell, Seth!’_ He heard Paul groan through the mind link.

 _Why did it always have to be Paul patrolling after him?_ He thought annoyed.

 _‘Is she trying to give me a heart attack? Are you sure she’s_ your _imprint?’_ Paul pressed, his interest in the matter and the reasoning behind it obvious.

 _‘You’re getting nowhere near her,’_ Seth snarled.

 _‘Paul, leave him alone,’_ Embry sighed.

_‘Come on, you’re telling me that you’re not affected by her. I mean look at her, she outstrips the girls at school by miles.’_

_‘Yes, she does,’_ Embry agreed and Seth growled in warning. _‘But she’s Seth’s girl, you’re being disrespectful.’_

 _‘Calm down,’_ Paul rolled his eyes _. ‘I was only saying she’s hot.’_

 _‘We get it, you want to sleep with her but she’s Seth’s, back off!’_ Embry warned.

Seth’s attention was brought away from the mind link when he heard a chuckle and he looked up to see Hermione smiling at him with a soft smile on her face and her eyes sparkling.

 _‘But just look at her, God!’_ Paul groaned.

 _‘You touch her and I’ll kill you,’_ Seth snarled before turning his attention back to Hermione. Without thought, he jumped up onto her bed and laid down next to her, his body flush against hers in a need to be close to her.

“Hey,” she grinned, turning her attention back to her book and he rested his head on his paws, happy to watch her as she continued reading.

Due to his closeness to her, he was also able to read the words on the page and he took in everything with amazement and horror; the type of things he was reading were worrying, the pages listed explanations of what he assumed were spells, how to cast them, the effects they would have on a person and there were images for some of them to show how they injured.

He nudged her with his nose and she turned to him, her eyes questioning but she quickly understood what he wanted.

“This is a book about the dark arts, illegal magic, which also means this book is technically illegal, so don’t tell anyone I have it, I don’t fancy being fined or arrested,” she shook her head lightly. “I’m doing some research... There’s eleven Death Eaters left and unfortunately, they’re the worst of them, members of the inner circle, meaning they were high rankers in the eyes of Voldemort. They were all older, more experienced and they each had a certain talent for torture, killing, mind control, dark curses and other things like that. They’re the most dangerous and they’ll know dark magic that I’ve never come across before so I have to be prepared. If I can recognise a spell being sent my way, by either the wand movements, the incantation or the colour of light that leaves the wand, I have a better chance of using the appropriate defence and surviving. If I know the effects of a dark curse, then I know how to reverse it.”

He nodded his large head; it made sense, it was better to know what you were up against and how to defend against it than be caught off guard.

“I, of course, would never resort to this kind of magic, it’s horrific and people that use this type of magic give the rest of us a bad name, it’s because of people like them that we have to stay hidden, it’s because of people like them that we’re hidden in the first place, if they had never turned to the dark side, The Witch Trials would’ve never happened, and who knows what the world would be like now?” She shrugged. “I am known to dabble in grey magic; it’s not illegal but neither is it encouraged but I’ve studied it and I know how and when to use it as well as how to reverse or heal the after-effects. The number of dark spells and curses I know scares me,” she admitted before turning back to her book.

“Like this one, for instance, _Hiatus_ ,” she looked at him, “This is a dark curse and it loosely translates to gaping hole. If hit with it, it will open up a wound on your stomach and it’ll slowly get bigger and bigger until your internal organs have been incinerated and it eats you up from the inside out. It takes twelve hours for it to kill you and there is no cure for it, if hit with it you die. There’s nothing that can be done and the final twelve hours of your life are nothing but painful. And this one, _Et Viscera Corporis_ , this curse slices you open and your internal organs, mainly intestines are pulled out of your body by an invisible force. There is a lot of dark magic in the world but there’s also good magic, too. Magic that’s incredible, that fills you with happiness and warmth when you see it and that’s the reason I fought in the war, not only to protect the lives of innocents and to prevent genocide, but to protect good magic.”

She followed her words by snapping her book closed and setting it on the bedside table before looking to him expectantly. Knowing what she wished, he climbed off the bed, walked out of the room and returned in his clothed human form moments later. She now lay under the blanket and when he slipped under the covers and lay on his side, she turned to face him and as she had the night before, she held her hand up expectantly, a smile pulling at his mouth when he silently lifted his own hand and laced their fingers together.

“Not it’s your turn, tell me about your shape-shifting.”

He smiled at her before he answered, giving her a brief explanation of the Tribes legends and stating that Billy Black told them better. He told her about the bloodlines of Black, Uley and Ateara and he told her about the process of going through the change, the symptoms and what it felt like being a wolf.

“So, let’s see if I’ve got this right,” Hermione started after he’d finished his explanation, “As a shape-shifter, you have enhanced senses: sight, smell and hearing, you all have accelerated healing, super speed and strength to put you on par with vampires, as well as a temperature of one hundred and eight degrees, a monstrous appetite and the ability to communicate with each other when you’re in wolf form. You grew remarkably in a short amount of time as well as putting on muscle, making you sixteen but at the physical peak of a twenty-four-year-old,” her brow furrowed in concentration and she nibbled her lip absentmindedly. He nodded, grinning at her. “Sam, he’s also imprinted on Emily, your cousin. Leah was Sam’s girlfriend until he broke up with her and then later imprinted. Sam’s the Alpha and was the first to phase and as the Alpha he has the ability to order you to do something and you have no choice but obey, thankfully, he never uses this ability, except for once or twice.”

“Yes, to stop Jacob from blabbing to his friend about the secrets of our Tribe,” he clarified.

“Next to phase was Jared, he’s the Beta of the pack and he’s imprinted, too, and on a girl called Kim. He’s the jokester of the pack. Despite you all having enhanced senses, Jared’s eyesight is the best of the pack?” He nodded. “Next to phase was Paul, he’s the most volatile of the pack, he has trouble controlling his anger and is usually the first to want to kill a vampire.” He nodded. “Next to phase was Embry but it caused problems in the pack because his mother originates from a different Tribe and when she moved here she was pregnant. Because he’s a shifter it means that he has the blood of either a Black, Ateara or Uley and given the circumstances, it means that someone has a half-brother and the father of said son had an affair whilst they were happily married at the time, or it was Sam’s father who left when he was still a child.” He nodded again. “Next was Jacob, and he’s the True Alpha of the pack because he’s the direct descendent of Ephraim Black, yet he refused to take over from Sam. Aside from the regular abilities, he’s also the second-fastest, the strongest of the pack, he’s the best fighter and since he’s the True Alpha, he also has the ability to give out orders if he so wished.”

Seth nodded again, his smile growing wider by the minute.

“Right, next to phase was Quil, he’s also imprinted on Claire and she’s two-years-old. You were next to phase which happened in March and aside from your abilities, your hearing is the best and you can hear up to two and a half miles if you’re able to focus. Your sister, Leah, she phased about a week after you and aside from her abilities, she’s the fastest of the pack. After Leah was Brady and he was followed by Collin.”

“Perfect,” he beamed proudly. “The others didn’t catch on this fast; it took them two months before they understood everything and even now I still think they’re a little confused on some it.”

“You’re forgetting I’m a magical being, too.”

“Will you tell me about the Weasleys, I know they’re important to you?”

A smile pulled at her mouth and she nodded. “Molly Weasley’s got a wicked temper on her and all of her children are afraid of her and her wooden spoon, regardless of age. She’s an amazing cook, welcomes anyone into her home with a smile and a hug but she’s stubborn, she doesn’t take no for an answer and she doesn’t know when to back off. She’s been expecting Ronald and I to marry since the day I met her,” she sighed. “It’s why she won’t leave me alone and is trying to force a marriage on me. Arthur Weasley’s a kind and curious man, he loves and has an obsession with anything muggle, he once asked Harry what the purpose of a rubber duck is,” her mouth twitched fondly and he snorted. “I’m being serious. After he proceeded to go on a rant about velcro, window screen wipers _and_ bubble bath. I don’t think there’s a mean bone in his body, he’s always treated me as if I were his daughter which was nice, given that my relationship between my parents was strained since finding out I was a witch.

“It was difficult for them, they couldn’t possibly comprehend the world that I belonged to and so they didn’t try, usually just ignoring it,” she shrugged. “Anyway, Bill’s a Curse Breaker, his job is to work on buildings and objects that have dark protective wards around them or dark magic. It’s a highly respected field given the danger it poses; one wrong move and it’d all be over for him. He once spent a year in Egypt working on the pyramids. He’s intelligent and kind. He married Fleur, the French witch from the Triwizard Tournament about two years ago, she’s also a Curse Breaker but now that she’s pregnant she’ll have to go on maternity leave to protect the baby.”

“Charlie, as you know, is a dragon tamer, working on breeding and rehabilitating dragons. A lot of people are intimidated by him; he’s well built and covered in tattoos and scars, hazards of the job, but he’s actually really sweet, he’s the first to wipe your tears away or hug you if you’re upset. He’s like a walking, talking teddy bear,” she smiled fondly and he chuckled at her. “Percy, he’s got a broom shoved up his backside,” she stated as a matter of fact and he snorted. “A real stickler for the rules, he works for the Ministry of Magic as the Junior Assistant to the Minister, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him crack a smile.”

“You already know about the twins, Fred and George. Ingenious, mischievous pranksters that can make anyone laugh and they can defuse the tension in any room, regardless of the happenings. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could have your pack and vampires in the same room but you’d be laughing so much that you’d forget vampires were present. They’re incredibly generous and kind; they’re the first to defend me, besides from Harry, of course. They offered up their home to me without a second thought and they took care of me when I needed it.”

“And there’s Ginny. Her temper’s _terrifying_ and she has all her brothers wrapped around her little finger, what with being the youngest and the only girl. She’s scarily observant and insightful, you can’t get anything past her and she’s athletic, pushy, but understanding. And that just leaves Harry. He’s my best friend, my little brother; together we’ve been through more than I ever thought possible. He defended me when others thought it’d be funny to make fun of me for my academic achievements or my blood or hair... And Harry, I was by his side for everything, my faith in him never faltered, when everyone else had given up on him, I was still there helping him through it, helping him to see that he had a future he needed to fight for,” she trailed off, falling quiet before she sighed, her eyes fluttering closed. “I’m tired,” she muttered.

“Go to sleep.”

“Are you staying?” She mumbled, he smiled at the familiar conversation.

“Always,” he promised, making her smile. He shifted onto his back and she went willingly to him, wrapping herself around him and sighing happily.

“You’re sure you’re staying?”

“Always, I’d follow you to the end of the world.”

“You’d have to find me first,” she echoed her words from the night before and he laughed.

“I’d always find you, I have my ways.”

“That’s good to hear, I’ve become rather fond of you, even if it’s only because of my dreams and your presence keeping me safe and happy.”

He beamed at the extra word she added, it was simple but very meaningful to him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 12

**Saturday 3rd June 2006**

When Seth woke the next morning, he was surprised to see that it was a little after nine in the morning, but he supposed it didn't matter with it being a weekend and he didn't need to leave to get ready for school. He looked down to once again find that Hermione had draped herself over him in her sleep, it was quickly becoming his favourite sight.

He listened to her breathing and realising that she would be asleep for a little while longer, he wrapped his arms around her and fell back to sleep.

He woke two hours later to the feel of something tickling him. He groggily opened his eyes, noting that both he and Hermione had shifted in their sleep. He was now laid on his side facing Hermione, who was also on her side facing him, one of his arms was flung over her waist keeping her close to him and her eyes were locked on his chest, on the movement of her fingers as she traced patterns against his hot skin, a shiver racing down his spine at the gentle, explorative touch.

Her eyes flickered up to his and he smiled at her sleepily.

"Morning," he spoke groggily.

"Good morning," she greeted, her voice soft and far more awake than he was. "You stayed," she spoke, sounding surprised. "You normally leave before I wake up."

"I didn't have to, it's a weekend and I don't have to go to school."

"Do your parents know why you don't go home?" She bit her lip nervously. "I don't want to cause a rift."

He snorted, knowing his mother would never let that happen.

"My mom knows, she's one of the Tribal Leaders, she took over for my father when he died of a heart attack a few months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said softly.

He gave her a small smile. "She knows you're my imprint, she knows that you're a witch and she knows that after my patrols I come here and she's fine with it, she understands what it means for us to have an imprint. They want to meet you, the Tribal Leaders, so does my mom, but that's because you're my imprint and not a witch, though she was surprised by that, too."

She nibbled at her lip thoughtfully, her eyes gazing at his hopeful expression before she sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll meet with your Tribal Leaders," she agreed. "But not yet, it's too soon."

He nodded in understanding but a smile pulled at his mouth.

"What about you, when will I meet your parents?"

"You won't." His brow furrowed, puzzled. "They died a couple of years ago."

"I'm sorry." She gave him a small smile. "How did they die?" He inquired gently.

"Death Eaters killed them. During the war, I wiped their memories to protect them, I removed any trace of myself from their lives so to them I never existed. I gave them new identities and gave them the urge to pack up and move to Australia but they never made it. They were found and caught before they even made it to the airport. I never asked the Order for specifics on what happened because I didn't want to know." She was looking down at her hand, still tracing patterns on his chest. "I suppose there's Mr. Weasley, but you couldn't meet him without meeting his wife and seeing as she's pushing this marriage on me and Ronald, even if he is a cheating weasel with a baby on the way, I don't think she'd take to you being in my life kindly. The others though, perhaps you'll meet them if I ever allow them to visit."

He took her hand, the one that was tracing patterns on him softly, entwined his fingers through hers and held it between them, being cushioned by the pillow.

"So, what do you want to do today?" He questioned, not liking to see her so upset and wanting to lift her spirits.

Her eyes flittered up to his. "Don't you have plans with your friends, your pack?"

"Well, we spend most of our time at the beach," he shrugged, "We'd probably just be going there, the weather isn't supposed to be bad today, we're forecast for some sun."

"Seth, I won't interfere with your life."

"But you _are_ my life, at least a huge part of it. Please? I want to spend time with you, I want to get to know you better."

She sighed in defeat. "Fine but I'm not promising anything. I have some more research I have to do, but I may take a break and have a wander down the beach and maybe we'll bump into each other."

He grinned at her, rather adorably in fact and she smiled back at him, unable to stop herself. He looked up at her clock and he frowned.

"I have to get home before I meet the others."

She nodded in understanding.

"I'll see you later," he said hopefully.

"If not at the beach, then in my dreams," she promised him.

His adorable grin returned before he pressed a kiss to her forehead and then climbed out of bed, walking out of her room with a bounce in his step but he almost tripped over his feet. He looked Hermione over his shoulder, both embarrassed and elated and her loud, joyous laughter rang in his ears even after he'd phased and headed home.

~000~000~000~

It was a few hours later when Seth and the rest of the pack were making their way down the beach. They'd met up at the diner and had lunch before journeying to the beach but it was only them that day with Emily and Jared having other plans.

"Hermione said she'll meet with mom, Billy and Quil," Seth informed his packmates as they walked down the beach, heading to their regular spot.

"She did?" Sam questioned in surprise.

"Yeah, I think she knew it was coming, to be honest," he shrugged. "But she wants to wait a little while, I think she wants to get used to having us in her life before she's forced to explain herself and her intentions again, and I don't blame her, she's cautious and she has every right to be after what's she been through," he said, his gaze on the sand beneath him and his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Speaking of your girlfriend..."

"She's not my girlfriend," he muttered.

" _Yet_ ," Jared smirked and the others laughed. "Speaking of your _girlfriend_ , she's sat over there."

Seth's head snapped up until he saw a figure sat on the sand with a strange glow before them. He couldn't make out who it was being too far away but Jared had told him that it was Hermione and he believed him.

He picked up his steps, jogging over to her and ignoring the sniggers behind him as his packmates followed at a slower pace. When they reached her, they all unceremoniously sat on the ground surrounding her with Seth sitting next to her and Leah chose to sit separate from them, approximately fifty feet away.

She didn't lift her gaze as she continued to stare out at the waves washing over the beach and crashing against the cliff face, her eyes fixated on some point in the distance. Her legs were drawn up to her chest, her arms folded around them and her chin rested on her knees, her hair left wild and free as it billowed behind her in the wind.

"You came," he grinned.

"I couldn't take any more reading about how to liquidate someone's lungs or how to turn someone's blood to ice."

"You can do that?" Embry questioned, horrified.

"Technically, I have the magical ability to do it but I don't have the mental capacity, I could never and would never use magic such as that. Dark magic's a truly horrific thing and it changes a person, it changes them in ways you could never imagine."

"How so?" Quil asked but his tone made it sound as though he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Dark magic allowed a man to split his soul seven times so that he may be immortal, he wasn't even human anymore. I saw a picture of him when he was at Hogwarts, he was one of the most handsome men I'd ever seen but you should've seen him at the Final Battle."

"What'd he look like?"

"Not human, that's for sure. He was pale, vampire pale; he looked like a walking skeleton that'd been made from candle wax. His fingers were skeletal, his irises blood-red, you could see the horrors he was capable of reflecting in them. The fear his victims held before he killed them. He was bald and gangly, his forked tongue was like a snake's, and his nose, well, he didn't have one, rather, it was two slits. He had this high pitched laughter that sent fear through your body when you heard it. His entire aura, it was darkness, cold, hatred," she spoke, her voice strangely void of emotion. They all stared at her horrified.

"Please tell me you're joking," Quil muttered.

"No, I'm not. He was a monster and I promise you, he sure as hell haunts me."

They all glanced towards Seth but his concerned gaze was locked on Hermione. He'd noticed that she sometimes did that, just zoned out and spoke as though nothing in the world mattered to her, as though she didn't care anymore.

"Hermione, what's that?" He questioned, gesturing to the neon blue flames that hovered close to her face, hoping to draw her out of her current mood.

 _Finally,_ she turned her eyes to him and then the flames he gestured to, a soft chuckle falling passed her lips before she raised her hand and the flames sat in her palm. She turned to face them, folding her legs beneath and displaying the flames for all to see. A smile pulled at her mouth at their surprised expressions.

"These are my blue-bell flames, I use them as lighting and to provide warmth in the tent, but they're also portable if placed in a glass jar. Not only are waterproof and they don't require oxygen to burn, but they're harmless to the human skin."

To evidence her words, she threw the flames into the air and caught them with her other hand before repeating the action twice more, a light laugh falling from her as they blinked slowly, scrutinising the flames as if they believed it was a muggle parlour trick.

Drawing her wand from beneath her sleeve, she created several of her blue-bell flames, one for each member of the pack sat before her, and when she handed them to them, they took them hesitantly, staring down at the dancing flames that sat in their hands.

"It's weird, I can feel the heat but it doesn't hurt, it tickles, tingles," Seth spoke amazed and the others made noises of agreement as they started messing about with them, throwing them in the air and catching them, or in the case of Paul and Jared, throwing them at each other.

"I told you, Seth," she spoke softly and he looked up at her, "Not all magic is dark, there is good magic, this," she pointed to the flames, "This is the type of magic that I love, magic that surprises, magic that's so simple it's beautiful, that is warming and incredible. Magic that leaves you speechless, that doesn't harm but offers comfort, joy, wonder. This is why I fought, this is what I fought to protect and preserve. If Voldemort had won, this magic, _good_ magic, would never be seen, it would die out and no one would know what it does for people, children wouldn't experience simple things such as this," as she spoke, her eyes were firmly focused on Collin and Brady, a smile playing at her lips as talked between each other rapidly and exclaimed how awesome magic was. "Anyway, this is a fairly simple spell for me, it's one of my specialities, one of my favourites."

"Can we keep these?" One of the pups asked her excitedly.

She tilted her head to the side, not knowing which was which.

"The one of the left is Brady, Collin's on the right," Seth informed her but his eyes remained on the dancing flames in his hand, entranced by their movement in the wind.

"Of course you can, Brady," she smiled, happy to see they appeared to be more comfortable in her presence. "But you'll have to make sure no one sees." She quickly conjured some glass jars for them all to put their flames in and they did so, setting them on the floor. "Have you finished reading _Hogwarts, a History_?"

"Yeah," Collin grinned. "It was awesome, you were in that book."

"Yeah, I know," she replied softly, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Is it true?"

"Yes, everything's true," she confirmed.

"Even the Giant Squid that lives in the Black Lake?"

"Yes. He's very big, possible twenty feet and he's purple. He's very docile, even though most fear him he's a big softy. Once, a first year, Dennis, he fell into the lake and the Giant Squid saved his life by pushing him back into the boat. The twins and their best friend often played fetch with him and I used to feed him toast, he loves it, oh, and he loves his tentacles being tickled," she smiled fondly, shaking her head lightly before a laugh left her when she realised they were looking at her as though she had two heads. "What have you done with the books?"

"We have them," Jacob and Sam chorused, she simply nodded.

"That's fine, but no one can find them, you may have to keep your shape-shifting a secret, but keeping magic a secret is imperative, if a muggle were to find out about me, I could be arrested and be given the death sentence."

She then slipped her hand into her hooded jumper pocket and pulled out her beaded bag, opening it and sticking her arm in, the shape-shifters before her spluttering when her arm disappeared right up to her shoulder.

"What the fuck is that?" Paul asked her, his eyes wide.

"My bag, it has an Undetectable Extension Charm on it, I used whilst we were on the run and despite the time that's passed, I can't bring myself to get rid of it. Old habits die hard."

She felt around in her bag before she sighed and removed her hand, tipping it upside down and hearing splutters when objects rattled and clattered and landed in a scattered pile that was slowly growing bigger. Cooking equipment, wash products, clothing, books, potions and ingredients, canned food, what looked to be the remainder of a tent, glass bottles and some weird looking items they knew couldn't be bought in their world.

"Do you have everything in there but the kitchen sink?" Jared blurted out.

Hermione put her bag on the floor and then reached in with both hands and she struggled to pull something out. When she finally managed, she dropped it to the floor and they stared. It was a kitchen sink.

"No, I have that, too," she quipped, her mouth twitching in amusement.

"Why d'you have a kitchen sink?" Paul arched an eyebrow with an amused look on his face.

"Honestly, I have no idea," she frowned thoughtfully. "I don't even remember putting it in my bag and I don't know why I'd need one."

Snorts sounded at her words and then she was reaching inside her bag again, making a noise of triumph when she finally found what she was looking for. Pulling her hand back, a book was held in her grasp and with a flick of her wand, the large pile of random items quickly returned to her bag.

"This is _The Monster Book of Monsters_ , I've had it since my third year, some of the information in here is a little biased and don't believe anything you read about werewolves, but the rest of it's quite accurate," she explained, absentmindedly duplicating the book, the two youngest shape-shifters grinning at her excitedly. "You have to be careful, this book _bites_."

Their eyes widened, slowly turning to look at each other.

"Awesome!" They both exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes and snorted. "It's also _very_ temperamental so try not to upset it."

Paul snorted in disbelief and she arched a challenging eyebrow before placing a copy of the book on the ground and it suddenly began to violently shake, growling sounds rumbling from it. Four eyes flew open, taking it its surroundings before the book physically lunged for Paul. They all startled and flinched back, Paul releasing an amusing noise of fright before Hermione expertly caught the book and held it in her arms.

"You have to rub the spine several times before it will allow you to open it," she explained, doing just that and they all blinked when the book visibly shivered, its eyes fluttering closed and an almost purring sound left it, as if it were enjoying her actions. "It will then fall asleep and you are free to read it but you must remember to reapply the lock. It likes to hide underneath beds and it always goes for the feet," she warned.

The two young wolves grinned and nodded enthusiastically, all but snatching the books from her grasp when she held them out to them, paying attention to nothing but stroking their fingers down the spines until audible purrs sounded and the books opened, their eyes glued to the pages.

"That's a little creepy," Embry commented, watching the book warily.

"Says the guy that turns into a very, _very_ giant wolf," she fired back and they chuckled at her. She turned her eyes to Seth, tipping her head slightly. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," he replied without hesitation.

"Can you swim?"

"Yeah," he answered, confusion seeping into his reply.

"Good," she nodded.

Silently, she rose to her feet before removing her hooded jumper and kicking off her boots and socks, leaving them on the ground along with her beaded bag. This left her in black leggings and a long-sleeved white t-shirt and she used the bobble on her wrist to tie her hair back from her face before motioning for Seth to stand, too.

"Right, we'll be about an hour, don't worry if you don't see us, we're fine," she told the pack, receiving confused, curious glances. "Keep an eye on the cliffs," Hermione nodded to Jared who looked at her surprised; she knew about his sight?

"You told her _everything_?" Sam's deep voice rumbled.

Seth shrugged. "Pretty much, it only seemed fair since she told us _everything_ about her life."

"Keep an eye on the cliffs," she repeated before she held her hand out expectantly and Seth took it without hesitation. "I'm not going to lie, this is going to feel a little strange and you'll likely be disorientated afterwards. Take a deep breath and hold it, bend your knees, close your eyes and keep them closed and for the love of magic, please don't faint or throw up on me." He tipped his head in confusion but she didn't elaborate further. "One, two, three..."

She spun on her head with her wand in hand, disappearing with a sharp crack.

"Where'd they go?" Jacob frowned.

Jared squinted his eyes in the direction of the cliffs.

"Holy shit!" He muttered. "They're on the cliffs. They're too far away to identify them but I can see two dots moving about."

"How the hell did she get them there that quickly?"

"Magic," Quil grinned.

They rolled their eyes and Embry shoved him until his back hit the sand.

~000~000~000~

Hermione landed on the cliffs and she heard Seth give a loud groan be he released her hand and doubled over, his hands braced against his knees.

"That was awful," he groaned.

She chuckled at him and rubbed comforting circles on his bare back, seeing as he'd forgone a shirt, wearing only jeans cut off at the knees and running shoes.

"You get used to it, you did well though, especially for side-along, regular apparition is better, side-along is awful seeing as you're not the one controlling the destination."

He took deep breaths and once his stomach settled he stood taller and she was glad to see he looked better.

"Okay, why the strange questions and why did you bring me up here?"

"I thought we could go exploring," she shrugged.

"Exploring?"

She smiled before casting a Warming Charm and then she tapped the tip of her wand lightly against her forehead, muttering beneath her breath before she repeated the action with Seth, a shiver racing down his spine.

"What was that?"

"Bubblehead Charm, it will allow us to breathe underwater for an hour," she grinned.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, and I have a few extra tricks up my sleeve, too." She waved her wand, banishing his socks and shoes down to the others and then held her hand out, which he immediately took. "As soon as we hit the water, you'll feel the need to gasp for air, to swim to the surface, don't, just keep a hold of my hand and you'll be fine."

He wasn't going to release her hand anyway, so it didn't matter to him.

"Okay," he agreed. "How are we getting down there?"

"I was going to apparate us," she twirled her wand in-between her fingers in a show of dexterity as well as bringing attention to it.

"How 'bout we jump instead?" He suggested.

Fear flashed through her eyes. "Err, yeah, you see, I'm _terrified_ of heights. And what if we hit the rocks? It'd kill us?"

"We won't hit the rocks," he said confidently. "The pack goes cliff diving all the time. It's perfectly safe and I know what I'm doing, as for the heights, just close your eyes." She looked unconvinced. "It's your turn to trust me," he spoke softly, squeezing her hand in encouragement.

She sighed in defeat and against her better judgement she closed her eyes, her body froze stiff with fear and he dragged her forward as she couldn't bring herself feet to move. Seth thought it was adorable and he couldn't help when his chest pooled with affection at her willingness to trust him so, especially with something she was afraid of.

"On the count of three, we'll run forward and when I tell you, jump. I won't let go of your hand, alright?"

She nodded, her jaw ticked and her eyes screwed shut.

"One, two, three..." They both started running forward. "Now!" Seth called.

Hermione forced down her fear, thinking of the times Seth had protected her from her nightmares and she took a great leap. For a second it felt like she was floating, the wind hitting against her face and tussling her hair but then her heart dropped into her stomach and she let out a terrified scream as she plunged down to her death and suddenly there was a splash and she was surrounded by cold water, the Warming Charm helping to fend off the chill.

She could feel the spell taking effect, a bubble forming around her nose and mouth and a protective shield over her eyes. Seth squeezed her hand, he hadn't let go, just as he'd promised. She opened her eyes to see him grinning at her in excitement; the spell had taken effect on him, too.

"This is amazing," he called, his voice distorted and bubbles flew out of his mouth, pulling a relieved laugh from her.

"Told you so, let's do some exploring," she suggested.

He grinned and nodded enthusiastically and together they swam deeper into the sea, looking at the plant life and fish that swam by seemingly undeterred by them. It was ten minutes later when Hermione decided she would show Seth something a little bit more fun and something that would put the minds of the pack at ease, seeing as they'd been underwater for so long.

"Seth!" She called.

He turned to look at her, his eyes shining in excitement and joy. She'd be lying if she said she didn't love the expression on him. He seemed to positively radiate sunshine and happiness and it was both addictive and contagious. She could use a bit of happiness in her life.

"Want to have a bit of fun?" She asked. His smile spoke for him and she released his hand, aiming her wand at him. "The Bubblehead Charm will immediately take effect as it did before, don't breathe or swim to the surface," she reminded him. " _Ascendio_ ," she called.

~000~000~000~

Leah had been watching and listening to her packmates and her little brother's imprint since arriving at the beach. She wasn't sure if she liked her. Respected her, yes, she definitely respected her after learning of her past and witnessing her takedown of two war criminals without aid, but she was wary of her, wary of the trouble she would bring to the pack, wary of how Seth would be hurt. But of course, she didn't speak her concerns, the others seemed to like her and Seth was smitten, completely and hopelessly in love with her and from what she'd seen so far, the witch was treating her little brother fine, considering the circumstances. Kim and Emily hadn't been as understanding and had taken a little while to come around to Jared and Sam, something that had devastated them.

They seemed to be laughing at something she said and she noticed the mountain of strange items and decided she didn't want to know. And before she knew it, they'd disappeared from view with a sharp crack and Jared was saying they were up on the cliffs, she turned her eyes in that direction and it wasn't long until they heard a feminine scream and saw the splash of water.

Leah was getting worried when it had been five minutes and there was no sign of them having resurfaced. When ten minutes passed with no sign of her brother, she stood to her feet and her body was shaking whilst she prepared herself to run into the water and find her brother but the pack had noticed and wandered down the beach to her.

"What're you doing?"

"Going after him, the idiot trusted her and she's going to get him killed," she snapped at Quil.

"She said she'd be an hour, nothing to worry about," Jared shrugged casually, appearing unbothered and unconcerned.

"And you believed her! You're bigger idiots than I thought," she sneered before storming towards the water but she halted after only a few steps when off in the distance something propelled out of the water, flying through the air.

"OH MY GOD!" It shrieked through a mixture of laughter and yells before it suddenly crashed into the water, once more disappearing from view.

"He's fine," Sam's voice rumbled amusedly, "Better than fine by the looks of things."

The pack all sniggered and chuckled before leaving Leah alone and returning to their previous spots.

~000~000~000~

"That was awesome," Seth laughed, his voice distorted and bubbles once more coming out of his mouth and she laughed at him.

"I thought you'd like it," she smiled. They continued with exploring for another forty-five minutes before Hermione was beginning to feel both spells wearing off and she was starting to shiver, the coldness of the water finally setting in. "I have something to show you, it's very difficult what I'm about to do and I don't know how long it'll last."

He observed her curiously as her soft features set hard in concentration and she pointed her wand at herself, magic particles seeming to swirl around her like bright golden dust and before his eyes, Hermione's body morphed into that of a blue-bottled nose dolphin.

He stared in awe as she swam around him in circles, nudging his hand with her nose playfully and he lifted it to run it over the smoothness of her nose and head. She moved away from him, swimming around him and twisting her body through the water and he laughed at her. She showed him her dorsal fin and nudged him expectantly and catching on to her intentions, he reached out, grasping it gently.

A noise of surprise fell from him when she rocketed forward, propelling him through the water and he laughed in glee as she weaved and waved through schools of fish and ducked and dived but he'd realised she was taking him back towards the beach, the water slowly growing shallower. She took him as far as she was able without getting stranded and then she nudged him forward with her nose before she swam off, Seth laughing at her behaviour before he made it the rest of the way himself. As he walked out of the water and onto the sand, he shivered when the cold wind brushed against his wet skin but he quickly acclimated to it, it no longer affecting him. He noticed he was exactly opposite where the pack was sitting before Hermione took them to the cliffs and as he approached, he caught sight of Leah sending him a glare before he shook it off, a smile pulling at his mouth.

"You look like you had fun," Embry commented, "What'd you do?"

"She used magic so we could breathe underwater for an hour," he grinned, plopping himself down on the sand. "We explored some of the sea life."

"You were practically flying," Quil laughed.

"It was _awesome_. She made me fly out of the water, it was like being propelled into the air by an invisible force, it felt weird but it was brilliant! You should ask her if she'll do it for you, it's better than cliff diving!" He said excitedly and they snorted, rolling their eyes.

"Where is she?" Sam asked.

They got their answer in the form of a blue-bottle nose dolphin emerging from the water, arching through the air before it landed with a splash in the water.

"There she is."

"That's a dolphin," Jared corrected, giving him a look that all but said he was stupid.

"Technically, it's Hermione," he beamed, "I watched her transform herself into a dolphin, it was awesome!"

They heard soft footsteps and turned their eyes back to the water, just as Hermione emerged, visibly shivering from the cold. She squeezed the water out of her hair before doing the same to her t-shirt which now clung to her, showing the form of her soft curves, flat stomach and the mounds of her breasts clad in a white bra.

They all stared, Seth and Paul more so, Paul leeringly and Seth with his mouth open in surprise.

"What's that on her stomach?" Jacob questioned with a frown.

Seth's eyes moved down to her stomach, glowering when he saw a thick scar that started just below her right shoulder, travelling across the top of her right breast, through the valley of her breasts, snaking under her left breast and ending at left hip.

"What are you all staring at?" Hermione asked, closing the distance between them, pushing her wet hair over her shoulder and taking a seat on the sand.

"How'd you get that?" Paul asked boldly, his eyes on her stomach.

Her gaze lowered and her body stiffened.

"It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing," he argued.

"Leave it!" She snapped coldly, a glare on her face and hatred in her eyes.

Silently, she aimed her wand at herself and muttered a Drying Charm, drying her hair and clothing before she pulled on her jumper followed by her socks and boots. She then reached for her beaded bag and rose to her feet.

"I have to go, I have Death Eaters to capture," she said, her voice once more void of emotion.

"Hermi..." Seth tried to speak but she disappeared from her spot with a crack.

"How d'you think she got that scar? Talking about it seemed to upset her," Jared mused.

"I better go and find her," Seth sighed, pulling on his socks and shoes before standing to his feet, walking away and heading for the woods.

"Find out how she got that scar," Jared called after him.

"Shove it!" He growled in response, laughter following him.

Leah watched him leave with a frown, she, too, had seen the scar on Hermione and she couldn't help feeling curious.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 9

**Saturday 3rd June 2006**

Seth arrived at Hermione’s tent in his wolf form and he debated phasing but decided against it in case she wanted him to leave. He drew forward when he heard sniffles setting him on alert.

As he entered the tent he found Hermione curled up on the armchair, her arms wrapped around her knees and her face was hidden from his view but he could hear her crying and sniffling. He crept forward and when his nose brushed against her leg, she startled, visibly jumping with an adorable squeak. In hindsight, he probably shouldn’t have done that. He was lucky she hadn’t pulled her wand and accidentally cast a spell.

Her head shot up and her eyes locked on his. He felt his heart shattering at her puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He sat himself down and before he could blink, Hermione had shifted off the armchair and onto the floor with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she cried into his fur.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to snap, I’m so tired of the reminders of what I went through. When they pointed out my scar, it brought back memories that I usually block out and I couldn’t take it.” Seth made a whining sound. “I’m so sorry,” she apologised profusely and he didn’t move, he remained still as she clung to him, occasionally nuzzling her when he could.

He wasn’t sure how long had passed but he knew it’d been a while when her cries had quieted and her sniffles had stopped.

“Thank you for staying with me,” she whispered. Seth made a purring sound in reply and Hermione smiled into his fur before pulling away and gently kissing his nose. Another purring sound left him and she couldn’t help but giggle as the large wolf swayed slightly. She pulled her wand and used it to clean up her face, making her crying seem less obvious before she slipped her wand up her sleeve.

“Are you hungry?” She asked. He nodded like a bobble-head and she smiled. “Yeah, me too, let’s see what I have.”

She rose to her feet and crossed to the kitchen, rooting through her food stores before selecting two of the meals the twins had sent her and with a few charms, they were heated and ready for consumption. When she turned around with the steaming food plated up and in her grasp, it was to see Seth standing in the place of the wolf and she looked confused before shaking her head.

They both sat on the floor around the coffee table eating the food in a comfortable silence and when they’d finished Hermione took their dishes to the kitchen and placed them in the sink to be washed later. She found herself sitting on the floor, leaning back against the armchair whilst Seth did the same, only leaning against the couch.

“Will you tell me more about magic?” He asked her.

She looked up from the ground and her eyes latched onto his, and she knew she couldn’t refuse him. His eyes, they were the most beautiful she’d ever seen. Where someone might only see the hazel colouring, Hermione saw the kindness, the inquisitiveness, the sparkle when he smiled. She would also correct them on the colour because they weren’t just hazel. No, on closer inspection they were hazel with flecks of green and blue. Beautiful.

“For you I would,” she answered softly. A large grin split across his face and Hermione smiled in response. How could one person be so handsome _and_ adorable? “What would you like to know?”

“You mentioned shape-shifters, the ones that turn into animals.”

“Animagi?” She offered.

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s it. Are you one?”

“No,” she shook her head.

“Why not?” He tipped his head slightly.

“Becoming an Animagus is a difficult process. It can take anywhere between six months and two years to complete. You have to have patience in abundance as it requires hours of meditation, grounding your magic, searching for your spirit animal, learning to take on its traits _and_ merge it together with your core magic and soul. Given the happenings of the last seven years, I’ve never had the time to dedicate myself to such a strict regime.”

“Whilst physical health is important when learning a skill such as this, so it mental health, I haven’t really been in a good place mentally for a long time. Although I am more than magically capable of becoming an Animagus and I could easily get through the theory aspect, I don’t have the patience for such a long process, and even if I did, I don’t have the correct mental state to carry out the process. I have too many bad memories and too many nightmares which has turned my once organised mind into a chaotic mess. I would never be able to focus or concentrate, or be able to clear my mind and find my spirit animal, though I already know what it is due to the fact that I can cast Patronus. I would love to discover the feeling of being able to escape being human for a short while, but unfortunately, I’m not able to,” she smiled sadly.

He slowly nodded, processing her words.

“Can you fly a broom?”

“Technically, yes, if I absolutely had to but I hate it.”

“Why? It must be amazing to be able to fly without the need of a helicopter or plane. To be free like a bird and soar above the clouds, looking down on the world and seeing it from a different viewpoint.”

Hermione tipped her head thoughtfully and she hummed. “I suppose you’re right, Harry’s always harping on about how he loves flying for the very reason that he feels free, there’s no expectations of him when he’s up in the air. He said the quiet helps him think, helps him to focus. But I’ve had a few bad experiences whilst being in the air. The first of many began with my flying lessons in my first year. I was awful, especially compared to the rest of the class, most of which grew up in the Wizarding World and had therefore learned to fly at the age of five. There were a few of us, Harry and Dean, that were raised in the Muggle World, but Harry’s a natural-born flyer. He had one flying lesson and made it onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team before the lesson was even over. He was the youngest Seeker in a century at Hogwarts.”

“Quidditch? Seeker?” He repeated, puzzled.

She chuckled at him. “It’s the most popular sport in the Wizarding World. We have our own leagues and World Cups, kind of like the Super Bowl. I don’t actually understand the rules though, I attended every Quidditch match at school to support my friends and my house, but I hated it. It was awful and _so_ boring,” she sighed and he laughed at her. “I should have a book on it somewhere, if not, I’ll ask Harry to send one and you can read it for yourself, you might understand far better than I do.” He grinned at her. “Anyway, there was an incident where I had to fly on the back of a hippogriff, a couple of years later it was a thestral and a couple of years after that it was a dragon. Combine them together and I don’t like flying.”

“Could you take me flying? Is that possible?”

“As long as I was the one controlling the broom, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be possible.” His grin widened. “As I said, I’d prefer to keep my feet on the ground, but if you really wanted to fly, I suppose I could do it for you.”

“Really?” He asked excitedly. “Now?”

“No, not only do I not have a broom, I would have to mentally prepare myself for it.”

“Why don’t you have a broom?”

“It’s not an essential part of living as a witch,” she shrugged. “It’s true that I’ve not met a witch or wizard that doesn’t have one themselves, but it’s still not an essential. I don’t have a broom because mine was damaged a couple of months back and I haven’t had the chance to replace it. The broom was an old model anyway and it’s not like I took care of it the way Harry does.”

“Meaning?” He prompted.

“Think of it this way, cars are important in the Muggle World and therefore most take care of them as if they were their children, yes?” He nodded. “It’s the same in the Wizarding World, you have to take care of brooms to make sure they’re in full working order, they’re magical objects that allow you to fly over two hundred feet in the air. Harry carries out maintenance on his broom once a week, he cleans and polishes it twice a week and he flies it every day for a minimum of an hour. Just like cars, there are hundreds of different models of brooms, all with different features and abilities, made for specific genders, purposes and Quidditch playing positions. There are different companies and manufacturers that produce brooms and dealerships that sell them. So basically, brooms are the magical equivalent to muggle cars.”

“Just how many models of brooms are we talking?”

“No idea, I’m positive it’s over three hundred, but no one actually knows how many brooms have been made since they were invented in A.D. 962.”

“Seriously?” He choked in surprise.

“Yes, I told you, we’re just regular human beings except that we’re born with the ability to practice magic.”

“Hearing that magic is actually real is a lot to take in. As a child, you believe in such things but then you grow up and see reality and now finding out that you were right in your beliefs... It’s weird.”

She laughed. “I know, I’ve always been a logical person, even as a child. As my parents were dentists and they had their own practice, they were always working. I spent more time with a babysitter than I did my own parents, bearing in mind the babysitter would spend more time on her mobile phone and watching TV than she did watching me and I spent most of my time reading in my bedroom. Strange things used to happen around me when I was a child, and I thought it was magic.”

“Like?” He encouraged her to continue.

“If I was mad vases would explode and books would fly off bookshelves. If I fell off a chair or out of a tree, I would land on the ground without any injuries. Dresses that my mother would make wear that I hated would suddenly find themselves disappearing and ending up in the bin.”

He laughed at her pleased expression.

“It must’ve been strange for you,” he commented.

“It was, but as I grew older those things stopped happening and my belief in magic faded. But then I got a letter and Professor McGonagall came to my house, bringing with her a new world, a world that I belonged to and didn’t know existed. It was a lot for me to process but when I got my first glimpse of the Wizarding World in Diagon Alley, I knew. I knew that I belonged there and for the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt like I was normal, that I was home,” she said softly, a small smile on her face. “And I’ve got a long life ahead of me. Whilst we can’t defy nature by living an immortal life, we do have decelerated ageing.”

“Wait! You have decelerated ageing, too?” His voice rose slightly.

“Yes, witches and wizards have a longer life span, of which some can live up to two hundred years of age. It all depends on the strength of your magical core, which keeps us alive. The stronger your magical core, the longer your natural life span. Professor Dumbledore, he was one of the most powerful wizards to have existed before he was murdered in the war. No one knows for sure how old he was when he died, it was common knowledge that he told people he was born in 1881, but there was no birth certificate or record to prove that. I personally think he was closer to two hundred, he was too wise to have only been one hundred and twenty-five when he died.”

He stared at her before he started laughing which brought Hermione to laughter.

“Please tell me you’re being serious.”

“Completely, I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“You wouldn’t?” He sobered immediately at her words, his expression suddenly turning serious.

A crease appeared in her forehead. “Of course, I wouldn’t. Despite how long I’ve known you, you’ve already made a massive impact on my life, and for the better. Believe it or not, you’re important to me.”

“I am?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Seth, if you don’t stop questioning me, I’m going to hex you,” she warned.

“You wouldn’t?” He challenged.

“I would,” she nodded.

“But you said I was important to you,” he all but pouted.

“And you are, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t hex you. I hex Harry when he annoys me and he’s my brother in everything but blood.”

He blinked at her dumbly and Hermione couldn’t control the sudden wave of laughter that burst from her. Seth stared at her, puzzled by her behaviour but her infectious laughter took hold of him and it was as if he was in a trance, just listening to her tinkling and joyous laughter.

“You know what? I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in the last three years than I have in the last week,” she spoke through her laughter as she slowly calmed. “And that’s because of you.”

“You’re happy?”

“Yes, I think I am, happier than I’ve been in a long time.”

“ _I_ make you happy?”

An expression of hope like she hadn’t seen before the war was over crossed his face, it filled his eyes and spoke through his body language.

“Yes, I feel happy when I’m around you.” she admitted, her cheeks burning pink.

She gave a shriek of surprise when she suddenly found herself being pulled up onto her knees and crushed into a hug. Seth had all but flew across the room that she hadn’t noticed his quick movements.

“Seth, super strength, can’t breathe...” She gasped out and whilst he did loosen his grip, he didn’t release her.

His loosened grip allowed her to move her arms that were pinned by her side and she looped them around his neck, hearing a sigh slip from him his mouth and she felt his whole body relax against her as his head dropped to her shoulder.

“You make me so happy,” he confessed in a whisper.

“I’ve done nothing to elicit those feelings in you.”

“But you have, you’ve done more for me than you realise.”

“My happiness makes you happy?”

“Yes.”

“Truly happy?”

“Completely! As happy as any person could be without bursting.”

“I’ll try harder,” she whispered.

“Sorry?”

“If my happiness means so much to you, then I’ll try harder to be happier. I’ll get better for you. I’ll learn to put my past behind me.”

“You don’t have to do that, you’re perfect the way you are.”

“No, I’m really not. No one’s perfect and everyone has flaws, I have so many I could fill a phone book. But if you’re emotionally tied to me for the rest of your life and my happiness affects yours, then I _will_ get better for you. I will get better so that you can be proud of me, so you won’t have to be ashamed of having someone like me in your life.” He could hear the sadness in her voice and his entire body tensed at her words. “You’re so kind and caring, you’re such a good person and you don’t deserve to be saddled with me.”

“Hey,” his voice remained soft but there was something there, something that had Hermione’s attention instantly. He pulled back from her, his arms still folded around her and hers still around his neck as they stared at each other, him down at her and her up at him.

“I am _not_ saddled with you,” his voice held sincerity and confidence. “I feel lucky that you’re my imprint. Despite what you think of yourself, despite what others may think, you _are_ a War Hero. You suffered so that others wouldn’t have to. You’ve gone through unimaginable pain, felt fear that I could never even comprehend and saved not only this world, but yours, too. You defeated a genocidal maniac and his psychotic followers. You’ve defeated dark creatures, most of which I didn’t even know existed and you’ve defeated more vampires than the pack _combined_. You’ve lost family, friends, peers, mentors and loved ones, all to horrific circumstances. You’ve overcome horrors and nightmares that I could never imagine and you’ve survived a toxic relationship. You’ve taken care of people since the age of twelve, you don’t have to do that anymore. You’re free now, you’re free to be who you wish to be and all I want is to see you fly... Not literally, I know you’d likely have a conniption.” She gave a laugh that came out more like a sob. She hadn’t even realised she’d started crying. “You don’t have to get better because there’s nothing wrong with you, you’re perfect the way you are, and I’ll always be proud of you. I am _not_ ashamed of you and I never will be.”

Tears fell from her eyes and trailed down her cheeks and Seth’s hands moved without thought, taking her face in his hold and his thumbs gently wiped away the teardrops, his eyes boring into hers as they shined with tears.

Without realising it, their heads had moved closer to and there was barely any space between them. Hermione noticed Seth’s eyes flittering down to her mouth and she couldn’t stop her body’s reaction. Her breath hitched and her heart skipped a beat, all of which Seth heard. But he didn’t move, he seemed to be waiting for her permission, for her to do something and then Hermione’s eyes closed and she tilted her head up the tiniest bit as her lips touched his briefly in a chaste kiss before she pulled back and her eyes opened, a beaming smile coming into her view and she felt herself smile in return.

His head lowered to hers and his mouth pressed against hers; he kissed her hesitantly, moving his lips against hers slowly and sensing his hesitation, Hermione pressed herself against him and took control of the kiss until she felt the tension drain from him. She drew away from him, her cheeks bright pink, her eyes no longer shining with tears but with happiness and there was a glow about her. Something truly astonishing and beautiful.

“You’re so beautiful,” Seth whispered and she smiled at him shyly.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been called that,” she admitted.

“Surely someone’s said it; you’re the most beautiful being I’ve ever seen.”

She shook her head, her cheeks tinting darker and her curls falling into her face. “I’ve been called many things in my life, most of them derogatory, but I’ve never been called beautiful.”

“Then it’s an injustice against you, not even a vampire can stand against your beauty.”

“Are you saying I’m deadly?” She teased.

“I’m sure you have the magical capability but you’re too kind to take a life. I’m just saying that I could fall into a trance by just looking at you, I’d happily watch you for the rest of my life. The way your eyes shine when you talk about something you’re passionate about, the way you nibble at your lip when you read, or when you frown in concentration. When you smile to yourself for no apparent reason or when you blow a curl out of your face in irritation,” he said fondly, brushing a curl behind her ear and his thumb running over her cheekbone as she titled her head, leaning into his touch. “You are so beautiful that nothing can compare to you.”

“You’re biased,” she blushed madly and he saw the pink in her cheeks turn to red.

“Believe me, I’m not,” he held back a growl, thinking of the way Paul spoke about her often and the thoughts he’d heard _and_ seen coming from him when they were in wolf form.

“You’re honestly the kindest person I’ve ever met in my life. You’ve such a good heart and I know that you’re destined for wonderful things, someone of your selflessness and kindness is fated to make a difference in the world,” she spoke softly.

“You are my number one priority; all I want is for you to be happy and safe.”

“Well, one out of two isn’t bad,” she muttered and he snorted. “You _do_ make me happy,” she promised. His heartbeat sped up and a huge smile lit his face and he saw Hermione practically melt into a puddle as she stared at him.

The happiness he was feeling suddenly turned to worry when Hermione hissed and her hands gripped onto his shoulders for dear life. It didn’t hurt with his strength but it was enough to make him realise that something was wrong. He felt her body shaking against his and he could hear her teeth grinding, her heart racing and almost unnoticeable whimpers left her.

“Hermione? Hermione, what’s happening?” His voice rose in alarm.

“It’ll be over in a minute,” she said through clenched teeth.

He waited and waited for what felt like a lifetime before she suddenly sighed and flopped against him. Her body shook lightly, the force lessening until it was barely noticeable, her teeth unclenched and she panted as she fought to catch her breath and her hear tbeat rapidly. His hands slipped from her face, down to her waist and around her back as he held her to him, supporting her weight easily.

“Hermione, please tell me you’re alright, what was that? What can I do to help?”

“I’m fine now,” she whispered. “That was a side effect from my torture sessions, I may still be alive but I have to deal with the after-effects. I get tremors and my body tenses up and pain radiates throughout my entire body. It’s as if I’m being tortured again only the pain isn’t as intense. My nerves were severely damaged. I just have to wait it out until it stops.”

“How often do you get these tremors? How long will you have them for?”

“I get them between nine and ten times a week. Some days I go without having any at all and others I can have up to three tremors in a few hours. As for how long I’ll have them, we’re not sure. As I mentioned before, the healers have never seen a case like mine, a case where there was survivor of that amount of exposure to the Torture Curse. We don’t know how many side effects I’ll have to deal with or how long I’ll have them for. It could be weeks, months, years or until I die. I just have to deal with it and move forward, I can’t let them define me, I can’t let them lead my life, and I sure as hell won’t let Bellatrix ruin my life from the grave. She is _not_ beating me, I won’t allow it.”

“You’re so incredible,” he whispered, once again pushing a curl behind her ear. He noticed her eyes drooping. “Are you tired?”

She nodded. “I haven’t had my nap yet,” she mumbled tiredly.

“Come on then, let’s have a nap.”

He scooped his hands under her and rose to his feet without issue, carrying her in his arms bridal style. The shock of movement made her alert and she made a shrieking sound as she clung to him.

“Seth, put me down! I’m too heavy and I can walk,” she scolded.

He chuckled at her. “No, you’re not, I have super strength, you weigh about as much as a pebble.” She scowled at him and he continued to smile at her, unaffected by it. 

When he entered her bedroom, he placed her on the mattress before kicking off his shoes and climbing on beside her. She was snuggled against him before he’d even got himself comfortable and he held her to him gently.

“I have something I have to do with the pack tonight, if I’m not here when you wake up, don’t worry, I’ll be back later.”

“Okay,” she muttered tiredly.

He placed a kiss to her forehead and she sighed, a smile pulling at her mouth which he felt as her cheek was resting over his heart, his heartbeat her own personal lullaby, soothing her into a peaceful sleep.

Seth wasn’t tired but he was more than happy to watch her sleep, a smile on her face as she dreamed peacefully. As she dreamed of him, he hoped.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 10

**Saturday 3rd June 2006**

Hermione awoke alone and finding that Seth had left, she felt disappointment, realising that despite the fact she hadn't known him long, she missed him, she missed his presence. He'd become such an important person in her life in such a short time and he meant a lot to her.

He was honest with her, he wasn't afraid to shower her with compliments no matter how embarrassed it made her feel. He was inquisitive, which she liked, he desired knowledge just as much as she did and he always seemed amazed by what he learned, whether it was something as outlandish as dragons or something as mundane as what wizards' used to brush their teeth. He was kind and caring and despite his tall and muscled frame that was a little intimidating, he was gentle and soft. He truly was a kind soul; she didn't believe he had a mean bone in his body, nor could she even contemplate him hurting anyone, not even a vampire of which he was born to hate.

She secretly liked the way he looked at her, as if she was the only girl in the world, in _his_ world. As if he would do anything for her, protect her and keep her safe. And despite his young age of only sixteen, she _knew_ he would. She felt safe with him, secure. He was her happy place, literally. Thoughts of him kept her memories from coming back to haunt her during the night.

He was special, he was kind, he was _hers_ , she realised, and she wouldn't admit it to herself but she liked that. She liked that she knew she could trust him with her secrets, she liked that she knew her happiness was his happiness. He was the exact opposite of Ronald, Merlin, if they ever met she was sure Seth would kill him with kindness, she thought with a giggle.

They would have a future together, she could feel it. Even though she had recently gotten out of a toxic relationship and she'd barely known Seth a week, she could see herself with him in the future. Although she knew Seth wasn't Ron, she wanted to be careful to make sure she never ended up in that situation again, though her heart didn't seem to agree with her mind and she was quickly beginning to fall for him, faster than she thought possible.

With a sigh, she reached her wand and glanced up at the clock; it wasn't long before ten o'clock and deciding that she was peckish, she climbed out of bed and headed to the kitchen to search through the cupboards and find something to eat.

She pulled her hair into a high ponytail and pulled out a lasagne from the cupboard, casting the appropriate charms to heat it up before she took a seat on her armchair, the plate in one hand and a fork in the other.

She'd barely eaten half of her lasagne when the alarm alerting her to Death Eaters sounded. Sighing in annoyance that her dinner had been disturbed, she set the half-eaten dish on the coffee table, drew her wand and summoned a pair of trainers. She quickly removed her hooded jumper and replaced it with a set of black robes before taking her leave from the tent, mentally preparing herself to have her first battle in over a week.

~000~000~000~

Hermione needed help and she knew it the moment she saw the four figures clad in Death Eater robes. She ducked behind a tree hidden under a Disillusionment Charm to buy herself some more time. Two, she could handle easily enough, three was a struggle but four? Four was a not a chance in hell situation. Knowing this, she reached into her pocket and removed the galleon, sending off an SOS to Harry; she hoped to Gryffindor and the rest of the Founders that he received the message. Due to the time zones, London was seven hours ahead of Forks, meaning that it was five in the morning in London.

"We know you're here, Mudblood," an unknown Death Eater sneered as he held his wand out and walked around cautiously, searching for her.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," another sang.

She felt her heartbeat increase as fear and adrenaline spiked through her and she gripped her wand tighter. She barely moved in time to dodge the curse that was thrown in her direction and it slammed into the tree and it splintered, sending branches and bark in every direction and some of the splinters caught her face and arms, cutting straight through the fabric of her robes, tearing them as blood trickled down her arms.

" _Incendio_ ," she whispered, hoping none of them would hear her or notice the ball of fire until it was too late.

It seemed that luck wasn't on Hermione's side and the spell was deflected and it slammed into a tree, setting it ablaze with vicious flames. With that one spell she'd given away her positioning and she was able to block two of the four curses thrown in her direction. The third cut her leg and she stumbled under the force and pain, and the fourth slammed into her chest, knocking her off her feet until her back collided with a tree and hit the ground hard.

She groaned in pain before realising the Disillusionment Charm had literally been blown off her, she was now visible and even more vulnerable to attack. She struggled to her feet, getting her balance before she turned and darted in the opposite direction, throwing spells, jinxes and curses over her shoulder in hopes of slowing them down. Again, luck was not on Hermione's side as she was hit with another curse, burning through her robes and t-shirt until it reached her skin, a cry falling from her lips as burnt flesh filled her nose and she tripped, hitting the ground.

Hearing footsteps and menacing laughter quickly approaching, she winced before climbing to her feet, turning just in time to deflect a curse which she recognised would've literally blown her to pieces. She prepared to return her own barrage of spells when she suddenly felt someone grip her from behind and teeth sunk into her neck as arms encircled her, pinning her arms beside her. She screamed in pain, a burning-stinging sensation attacking her nerves and blood droplets trickling down her neck.

"Hello, Poppet," a voice snarled against her skin as sharp teeth withdrew from her flesh.

Hermione froze; she knew that voice. Fenrir Greyback and if he was there, that meant the other Death Eaters were likely with him, which meant they were likely werewolves, too, making it twice as difficult to defeat them in battle due to their strength and reflexes.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time," he growled and she felt nausea swim in her stomach as his hot breath ghosted over her skin and he took a long swipe at the bite wound with tongue, licking away the blood. He made a growling sound and bile rose in her throat as he ground himself against her arse and she felt the bulge beginning to make itself known in his robes.

"Even your blood's sweet, I can't wait to have more, to taste _all_ of you. I was disappointed you were taken from me that day at Malfoy Manor, but now we have no interruptions," he breathed against her ear and a hand came up to her breast, he groped at it harshly and she whimpered as his long nails, no, not nails, his _claws_ tore through the fabric of her clothing and he scratched at her skin, but she didn't make a sound as her body shook in fear.

She heard cruel laughter and forced herself to open her eyes, seeing the four werewolf Death Eaters casually leaning against tree trunks and smirking cruelly. They'd removed the hideous silver masks, obviously not being afraid that she'd escape and be able to identify them. Hermione could see their eyes glowing in the dark, cementing her suspicions that they were werewolves.

She stiffened further when he nuzzled at her throat, breathing in deeply before a terrifying snarl slipped from him.

"You smell like another wolf," he growled, gripping her tighter and his claws piercing her skin. He placed his teeth over her bite wound and bit down, sinking into her already pierced flesh, more blood trickling down her pale skin and a scream of pain tore from her throat as she wriggled and writhed, trying to break free. The four werewolves covered their ears and winced slightly at the agonised cry. "Scream all you want, Poppet," Greyback grumbled, pulling his teeth from her flesh. "No one can hear and I _like_ it when you scream," he sneered, pointedly grinding himself against her.

She had to get out of there; she had to get away from them. She gripped her wand until her knuckles turned white and forced her magic to travel around her body and to her fingertips, passing through her wand and she said,

" _Turbinis Vasti_!"

The wind suddenly picked up and swirled around them, creating a vacuum of air that was pulling them towards it, having the effects of a tornado. The four Death Eaters clung to branches whilst Greyback was forced to release her in order to find something to hold onto. Hermione took the chance to escape and she ran for her life.

She briefly heard Greyback growl out the counter charm before their loud, heavy footfalls followed her. As she dived and weaved between the trees, her smaller frame allowing for agility, she leapt over a fallen tree and twisted mid-air, apparating away. Unfortunately, she was injured, exhausted and terrified and she hadn't been able to properly focus, (it being a miracle that she hadn't splinched herself when she'd landed) which resulted in covering a distance of barely two miles.

_Where the bloody hell was Harry?_

As she darted through the woods, occasionally tripping over fallen and broken branches and twigs and avoided running into trees or getting caught in rabbit holes, she knew she'd bought herself some time but werewolves were the best natural trackers in the Wizarding World for obvious reasons, which meant they'd soon find her.

She almost laughed in relief when she felt her galleon heat up inside of her pocket, knowing Harry'd received her message and that he'd be on his way but she didn't dare stop to read his reply, nor did she dare to stop to respond. She just ran as fast as she could.

"Poppet! I'm gonna find you and we'll finish what we started," Greyback's voice carried in the wind and she ducked behind a tree as she physically couldn't run anymore.

Her lungs were burning with the need for oxygen, her sides were aching, as were her other injuries that hadn't yet stopped bleeding. She did her best to slow her breathing and her heart rate, not wanting to give them another way to find her. She could hear them, they were less than ten feet away and she took a breath before she ran for it; she could see a clearing up ahead and just as she was about to cross into it, a curse slammed into her back and she was propelled forward.

She screamed bloody murder, a stinging rippling through her back as she soared through the air, far too high for her liking, her fear of heights making an appearance.

She did her best to slow down her descent with an _Arresto Momentum_ but when she hit the ground and rolled to a stop, she knew she'd have bruises and a lot of them, possibly a broken arm, too. She just had to be grateful the fall hadn't killed her.

When she landed almost in the centre of the clearing, she realised she'd been propelled almost fifty feet.

What the hell kind of curse had that power?

Groaning, she slowly climbed to her feet, her breathing heavy and her body leaning forward slightly as she gasped for air. When she saw the four Death Eaters and Alpha werewolf step into the moonlight and out of the shadows of the trees, she fought down the cry of frustration and straightened her posture, her narrowing hatefully and a curse on the tip of her tongue.

"Poppet, why must you be so _muggle_?" Greyback taunted, the four werewolf Death Eaters behind him laughing cruelly. "Let let me take you as my bitch and we can stop all of this." He smiled manically, her blood staining his teeth and mouth and his eyes gleamed in anticipation.

"I would rather die," she hissed menacingly, her eyes darkening at the possibility of being raped, tortured _and_ murdered.

"That can be arranged," one of the Death Eaters replied, levelling his wand in her direction.

Hermione spread her legs slightly apart in order to get a better stance and her face set hard in concentration and determination.

Greyback licked his lips, his eyes raking her form in animalistic hunger.

" _Avada Kedavra_ ," the Death Eater snarled.

Hermione's eyes widened before she ducked, sending a _Stupefy_ , followed by a _Petrificus_ _Totalus_ in return, which he easily deflected.

The Death Eaters laughed at her cruelly, slowly advancing but then one unexpectedly fell to the ground, his limbs locked tightly against his body. They all twisted to look over their shoulders only to be assaulted with a variety of spells and curses.

 _The cavalry's arrived,_ she thought in relief, her wand arm lowering to her side as she rose to her feet.

Harry stepped out of the shadows and into the clearing, moonlight beaming down on him, showing he was dressed in his Auror robes and mismatched shoes, she realised amusedly. Two more Aurors followed him, their stances strong as they lobbed their own spell casting at the remaining Death Eaters, their robes a slightly darker grey.

Finally, help had arrived.

~000~000~000~

Seth had forced himself to leave Hermione's side even though it was the last thing he wanted to do, but knowing that he had a responsibility to the pack, he left her sleeping peacefully and with a kiss to her forehead. When he phased, he headed to the clearing where he would be met by the rest of the pack and they would continue to observe the Cullens fight in order to prepare for the soon arrival of the newborn vampires they were to help destroy.

In all honestly, he used to find the sessions interesting and he would admit that he quite liked it when one of them ended up on their asses. He might not have hated the Cullens the same ferocity as his packmates but he still thought it funny when it happened. And whilst he used to enjoy the sessions, now all he could think about was getting back to Hermione as quickly as possible and he hoped that the session wouldn't be a long one.

The rest of the pack met him at the spot hidden in the trees that surrounded the clearing and they greeted him, striking up conversation whilst they waited for the Cullens to arrive. They hadn't been there long when he heard a noise in the distance and he lifted his head, his night vision being perfect for the dark shadows of the woods as he searched for the source.

 _'What're you doing?'_ Quil asked him.

 _'Nothing, just thought I heard something,'_ he replied, turning back to face the pack.

It was barely ten minutes later when a scream pierced the quiet and they all winced as the sound rang in their ears, everyone being on high alert as they searched for where the sound came from.

Seth's heart stopped in his chest when he saw that it was undoubtedly his Hermione, literally flying through the air and she was screaming hysterically as she began to approach the ground. He knew that both the speed of her descent and the height would kill her instantly and he leapt up, preparing to run out into the open to catch her, when to his amazement, her descent slowed dramatically and rather than crashing into the ground, she hit the ground and rolled to a stop.

They all observed as she slowly got to her feet, all wondering the same thing. Why she was there? How had she found them?

Seth's eyes carefully examined her, his angry building when he saw that she had tears in her clothing and blood running down her leg, arms and splattered on her face. What had happened to her?

They got their answer when they saw four men wearing dark robes step out into the moonlight, they were average looking, but the fifth man surprised them the most. Fear spiked through his entire being.

He was tall, maybe the same height as some of the pack, making him _at least_ six-foot-four. His strongly built form could be seen under the robes as they'd come apart and he wasn't wearing a shirt. His torso with thick with muscle, his skin pale and covered in dirt and differently shaped and sized scars. His hair was jet black and long, going down to his mid-back and was mattered with leaves and twigs sticking out of it. A grey stripe shot straight down the centre. His fingernails were long, yellowed and dirty, looking more like claws and his eyes gleamed a terrifying orange, leading Seth to believe that he wasn't human, not completely. As his eyes quickly darted to the four men behind him, he saw their eyes gleaming orange, too, but it didn't appear to be as bright or terrifying.

Seth slowly edged his way forward, intending to get to Hermione so he could protect her but both Sam and Jacob stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

 _'Move!'_ He growled.

 _'No,'_ they chorused replied calmly

 _'Move now!'_ He snarled in fury, bearing his teeth threateningly.

 _'No,'_ Sam said without raising his voice, knowing Seth's reaction was due to his imprint's injuries and not due to him wanting to be disrespectful or to challenge him.

 _'Remember what she said?'_ Jacob said calmly. _'You can't get involved in her matters and she wouldn't get involved in ours, you promised her. Do you want to break that promise?'_

_'She's hurt, she needs me,' he argued, pain edging his voice._

_'Maybe, but if she wanted your help I'm sure she'd find a way to contact you. You need to stay out of this and let her fight her own battles.'_

"Poppet, why must you be so _muggle_?" The tall, terrifying man sneered and the others behind him laughed manically. "Let me take you as my bitch and we can stop all of this."

 _'I'm going to kill him!'_ Seth snarled menacingly, frightening the pups and surprising Leah with his outburst.

 _Fucking hell, imprints are a pain in the ass,_ she thought irritably. She'd lost her boyfriend due to an imprint and her brother was now considering _killing_ a human because of it.

Seth leapt forward only to smack straight into Jacob and seeing as he was a larger wolf and stronger, he was able to take the force of the collision without falling. Seth stumbled in his steps before finding his balance and pacing agitatedly, realising he wasn't getting passed them.

"I would rather die," his imprint hissed menacingly, her expression surprisingly calm.

"That can be arranged," one of the Death Eaters replied nastily, levelling his wand in her direction. " _Avada Kedavra_ ," the Death Eater snarled and he watched as Hermione moved out of the way and sent two spells in return but they were deflected by shields.

The Death Eaters laughed at her but suddenly one fell to the ground, their limbs locked together, the other turning only to be assaulted with a variety of spells and curses.

Seth calmed only slightly in seeing that her friend, Harry, and two men wearing grey robes stepped out of the shadows, firing spells at the remaining men.

Despite what was happening around him, the taller, terrifying man seemed to only have eyes for Hermione and Seth watched with his nerves frying and his heart pounding as he moved closer to her, aiming his wand at her.

Before Seth could blink, beams of light and shouted words were being exchanged between Hermione and the man and they all kept their eyes on her, vaguely being aware of the other three men being detained.

"Should we help her?" One of the robed men asked Harry.

"No," he shook his head, his gaze firmly on Hermione and his wand held lightly in his hand, ready to jump in and help if needs be. "This is her battle, she's got a lot of issues she needs to work out and defeating Greyback will give her the closure she needs."

Hermione fiercely fought her assailant but it was clear she was beginning to tire and they didn't know how much longer she'd be able to fight.

"Come now, Poppet, let's end this and we can have some _fun_ ," he was practically pouting at her.

Seth bristled.

"Shove off back to hell, Greyback!" Hermione hissed.

Seth felt pride sweep through him when one of her spells hit its target, placing a large gash on the man's chest. He was sickened when the man simply wiped the blood off with his finger and licked it.

"Not as sweet as yours," he growled lowly. "I can't wait to taste what's rightfully _mine_."

Seth led out an audible growl and the man swerved his head around so fast it made Seth dizzy, and thanks to the distraction, Hermione was able to land a powerful spell that sent him tumbling to the ground, robes snaking around him and turning into thick, heavy chains.

"The only thing you'll be _tasting_ is the rotten food they serve at Azkaban," Hermione sneered at him.

When Harry quickly approached her, she pocketed her wand and her hand came up to press against her neck, wincing in pain. When she drew it back, blood coated her fingers and reapplied pressure to the wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Harry asked her worriedly, his eyes cataloguing her injuries.

"I will be, I'm just grateful you got my message, I wasn't sure you would with the time difference."

"You'll always have me for back up," he promised her.

"Just you wait, Poppet, I'll get out and then I'll find you. You'll never be free of me, you'll always be looking over your shoulder, wondering if I'm watching you. You'll be my bitch and you'll never want to leave," Greyback said cruelly. "And when I'm through with you, my packmates will have a taste of you."

Harry hit Greyback with a Silencing Charm, just as an angry growl echoed in the wind. Hermione's eyes searched the surrounding trees and somehow she knew Seth was nearby.

"That's where you're wrong, Greyback," Hermione started, looking down at him in disgust, "You'll never have me; I'm protected in more ways than you realise."

Seth was finally allowed to go to his imprint with her no longer in danger and he stepped out of the trees, slowly making his way towards her, not wanting to frighten her friend and the other men on her side but also wanting to frighten the man that had threatened his Hermione.

The man's eyes widened slightly before they narrowed, sizing him up, daring him to attack, holding promises that he _would_ hurt his Hermione. Seth was grateful that his pack followed behind him, Jacob and Sam on either side of him, Jared and Paul slightly further behind, followed by Embry and Quil with Collin, Brady and Leah at the back.

His imprint turned her eyes to him and no longer caring for the man on the floor, even if he did want to rip his head off, he sped up his movements and was beside her in moments, the pack surrounding them in a protective circle.

" _Bloody hell_ ," her friend muttered.

Seth's heart soared when Hermione giggled.

"Told you they were massive, Harry," she said lightly.

Seth carefully nuzzled her neck, the smell of blood overpowering his senses and a whimper fell from him at seeing his imprint hurt.

"I'm fine," she said softly, looking up at him. He knew she was lying, he could see the pain in her eyes.

"Hermione," Harry called, giving his head a shake and pulling his eyes from his packmates. "You should see a Healer."

"Honestly, Harry, I'm fine," she assured him, but as she said this, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she suddenly collapsed to the floor.

"Hermione!" He cried.

Seth let out a wounded whine, falling to the floor beside her whilst Harry quickly knelt beside her, noticing the wound on her neck he moved closer to her to get a better look.

"FUCK!" he cursed, sending more worry and panic through Seth. He went to lift Hermione into his arms but Seth growled in warning. "I have to take her to the hospital, she's been bitten by an Alpha werewolf. I can't get a Healer to her in time," he explained but his confusion was clear regarding his overprotective behaviour of his best friend.

 _'Seth, let him take her_ ,' Jacob said, _'She needs help, whatever that bite means it's bad.'_

 _'She'll be alright if you let him take her,'_ Leah said in an uncharacteristically soft tone, seeing that her brother was in pain; she could practically feel his agony through his thoughts, through the mind link.

 _'I'm going with her,'_ he conceded.

 _'That's fine,'_ Sam said, _'But you might want to hurry up, the leeches will be here soon,'_ he warned.

Without thought and embarrassment, Seth changed from wolf to human and he stood in front of Harry completely naked. Harry's eyed widened at both the change and his current lack of clothing before he averted his gaze, clearing his throat uncomfortably. Seth kneeled on the floor beside Hermione and gently pushed her fallen curls back from her face before shifting her into his arms and rising to his feet, Harry doing the same.

"I'm coming with you," he said in a tone that dared him to argue.

Harry seemed to blink before he cleared his throat, pointedly looking away from anything _private_.

"I'm sorry but you can't, not only can I not transport Hermione in her unconscious form as well as you, you won't be allowed to access the hospital."

"Why the hell not?" He demanded.

"It's a magical hospital and you're not a relative or next of kin. The longer we stand here and argue about the fact, the worse Hermione's injuries will get, and if you care for Hermione the way I think you do, you wouldn't want her to be in any pain. I'll take her to the hospital and return to Hermione's tent with news of what the Healers say when I have the chance."

Seth was about to respond with a 'no' when a bark from both Leah and Jacob put him in his place and he unwillingly placed Hermione into Harry's arms.

"Do me a favour and keep an eye on these for me," Harry gestured to the man on the floor, still watching Seth and the four unconscious men. "There should be more Aurors arriving any minute now to arrest and detain them, the other two are doing a quick sweep of the perimeter to make sure there aren't any more nearby. But you may want to get out of sight, don't want to frighten them, do we?"

He then disappeared from view, taking Hermione with him and Seth's face crumpled into pain-filled longing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 13

**Saturday 3rd June 2006**

Seth had stayed with the pack in observing the Cullens practice their fighting skills but once Hermione had left he'd fallen quiet. The rest of the pack retreated back into the trees but kept an eye on the situation in case anyone tried to escape and Seth had phased into his wolf form and stood before the man that was chained up, baring his teeth at him and snarling.

Moments later he'd heard approaching footsteps, catching sight of more Aurors having arrived before he hid in the shadows, watching as they retrained the men and did damage control, the smell of blood vanishing. Once they'd left, Seth had laid on the ground for three hours, watching the Cullens but not paying attention, his every thought was about Hermione and the rest of the pack did their best to let him have some solitude but with the mind link, it was difficult. They could feel his pain and it was hard for them to ignore it and concentrate on the reason for their presence in the clearing.

When the three hours were up, Seth barely glanced at his packmates before he ran straight to Hermione's tent, hoping he'd see her there after witnessing how quickly her previous injuries had healed with the help of magic. He entered her tent and when he couldn't smell, see or hear her presence, a whine of sadness fell from him and he made his way to her bedroom, climbing onto the bed and waiting for her to return whilst he was surrounded by her comforting scent.

He'd fallen asleep and when he heard a sharp crack, it rang in his ears and he was wide awake, excitedly jumping from the bed and padding into the living room. But when Harry was the one to enter the tent, he visibly deflated and silently returned to the bedroom, climbing onto the bed and snuggling into the blanket.

Harry entered the bedroom, observing Seth silently and cautiously.

"If she knew you were on her bed, she'd probably kill you," Harry warned, having no idea that he and Hermione sat on her bed together regularly in both of his forms. "Hermione hates dogs, she was bitten by one when she was eight." That news surprised Seth but he didn't react, just continued to stare at Harry. Harry sighed and seeing that he wasn't going to respond he spoke, "Listen, Hermione's explained a little about her relationship with you, not enough to invade your privacy but enough for me to understand what's going on. The gist of it is Hermione's your life mate, yeah?" Seth blinked at him but otherwise didn't move. "That's what I thought. Now, I've seen the way a mate bonding such as this works so I understand how protective you are of Hermione, but you have to be careful that your protectiveness of her doesn't hurt her. I've spoken to the Healers and I got Hermione to the hospital in time and although her injuries weren't too severe, they could've been made worse by you preventing me from taking her to the hospital."

Seth's gaze lowered and he buried his face under his paws, feeling shame and guilt. Her injuries could've been made worse because of him. He hated himself.

"Now, that I've gotten that out of the way, Hermione hasn't yet gained consciousness but the Healers say that Hermione has a broken arm which should be healed by tomorrow along with the lacerations, and the slightly deeper wounds should be healed by the following day. She had a severe burn on her back which will take some time to heal, a week or so. She has several deep tissue bruises which can take anywhere from two days up to a week to heal, depending on Hermione's health and her magical core. Her most troubling injury is that she's been bitten _twice_ by an Alpha werewolf. Luckily, it's not the full moon so Hermione won't be infected by Lycanthropy but since the full moon is less than a week away and it was an Alpha that bit her, the werewolf venom is stronger, therefore it'll take longer for them to flush the venom out of her system and once recovered, she may take on a few lupine traits, anything to preferring raw meat at the full moon to increased senses. She'll have to stay in hospital for a couple of days as she has to be monitored but aside from that, she should be fine. It's just a waiting game now."

Hope filled Seth at the news but so did longing; he wanted his Hermione with him _now_.

"I better get home and fill out the reports," Harry said, turning to leave but he paused in his movements. "I think this goes without saying, if you hurt her, I'll end you, as will the rest of her family... The twins, Charlie, Bill, we're all _very_ protective of her. And don't even get me started on Ginny Weasley, frightening doesn't even come close," Harry shivered before pinning him with a piercing stare and then making his exit, leaving Seth alone to his thoughts.

 _'How's she doing?'_ Jacob's voice entered his mind; he was doing patrols with Quil.

 _'She'll be in hospital for a few days to be monitored as they have to flush out the werewolf venom from her system, but she should be fine,'_ he answered solemnly.

 _'That's good to hear,'_ he replied and meaning it, _'Will she be a werewolf herself?'_

_'No, it wasn't a full moon but she may take on some lupine traits, better hearing, sight, smell, things like that.'_

_'She's practically one of us.'_

_'Practically, she scares me more than Sam.'_ Quil entered his mind and both Jacob and Seth snorted in amusement.

 _'Yeah, that girl of yours sure is something,'_ Jacob commented.

 _'I don't know what I did to deserve her,'_ Seth admitted. _'I miss her.'_

_'She'll be with you again soon.'_

~000~000~000~

**Wednesday 7th June 2006**

Hermione was losing her mind!

For four days she'd been kept prisoner at St. Helena's Hospital and all she wanted was to go home. She missed her bed, she missed eating her own food, she had research she needed to continue, she knew she'd have owls waiting for her back at the tent, but most importantly, she was exhausted and she missed Seth.

She missed seeing him in her dreams. She missed his heartbeat lulling her into a peaceful sleep. She missed his overly hot body temperature keeping her warm as she slept. She missed his curious questions and his laughter of disbelief as she answered them. She missed him and she wanted to go home.

She'd been pestering the Healers for days, to the point where Harry been contacted and asked to come to the hospital to speak to her about her badgering of the Healers. Of course, Harry did nothing but laugh at her scowl and her childish crossing of the arms as she fumed in silence, but he was good company. He port-keyed over after his shift at work and he would spend a couple of hours with her every day. He informed her of the goings-on of the Wizarding community of London, he kept her up to date with Fred and George's new products, with Bill and Fleur's pregnancy and with Ginny's preparations for graduation.

Hermione had blushed to her roots when Harry had brought up the topic of Seth and seeing her reaction, he'd spent a good ten minutes laughing at her expense, Hermione silently plotting her revenge. Harry was very supportive of her thoughts and feelings and although he was happy that she was happy, he did admit to her that he'd threatened Seth, which made her laugh. Harry, an average height teenager with a slim seeker's build, threatening Seth, a six-foot-one giant with muscles and strength in abundance. She knew what Harry was capable of power-wise, of course, she did, but she still found it funny.

"Miss. Granger, how are you feeling today?" Healer Baldwin asked her as he walked into the private room she'd been given due to her status, of course, which had annoyed her.

Healer Baldwin was a young wizard in his early twenties, he stood at six-foot with mousy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, a small nose and sun-kissed skin and he was overly kind with Hermione, once again, much to the amusement of Harry.

Hermione wasn't blind to his flirtatious comments, nor was she blind to how handsome he was, she just wasn't interested in his advances, not when she had Seth in her life. It amazed her how quickly Seth had integrated himself into her life, into her thoughts and her decisions.

"I feel perfectly fine, which is what I've been telling you for the last _three_ bloody days," she scowled at him and crossed her arms.

He chuckled at her. "Well, the tests said otherwise," he replied. "Now, your lacerations have fully healed and I'm happy with the lack of scarring and infection, your broken arm has healed quite nicely, it may be tender for a few days so be careful not to lift anything too heavy. As for your burn, a few more coatings of Burn Salve should have it cleared up in the next three days but there will be some scarring."

"It sounds like you're finally letting me out of detainment," she said, sitting up straighter and unfolding her arms, a hopeful tone to her voice.

He smirked at her choice of words. "I have a few tests to run, the results will determine if you can leave today or if you have to remain here for a few more days."

She made a noise of disagreement.

"If I have to stay here any longer, you'll have an escapee patient on your hands," she promised him and he chuckled.

"I suppose we better run these tests and find out whether you can leave freely by walking out of the door or fleeing by climbing out of the window." He said, holding his wand and casting the appropriate spells, humming and tutting as he did so.

"So, the verdict?" Hermione asked impatiently, once the last result of the tests disappeared and he stepped back, making notes on her medical chart.

"The werewolf venom is now clear of your system and providing that you apply the Burn Salve I will prescribe you and you refrain from lifting heavy items for the next few days, I'm happy in the decision to discharge you."

" _Finally_ ," Hermione sighed in relief.

"I'll prepare the discharge forms, in the meantime, you may change, I'll be back shortly."

"Thank you," she all but jumped out of bed and he chuckled as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Hermione crossed over to the bag of clothing Harry had collected from her tent for her and she found a towel and her wash products and slipped into her private bathroom. She quickly showered, washed and dried before slipping on a pair of light washed blue skinny jeans, a white tank top with a black cardigan left open and a pair of black heeled ankle boots, adding a little to her height. She brushed her hair the best she could, leaving her curls to flow down her back and then she brushed her teeth.

By the time she exited the bathroom, Healer Baldwin had returned and they went through the forms with Hermione signing her name in the appropriate places. Once done, she accepted the Burn Salve from him and placed it into her bag and she was ready to leave.

"Well, I'm sad to see you go," he said with a charming smile.

"The rest of the hospital staff disagree," she replied and he chuckled, knowing she was right.

"So, now that you're discharged and you're no longer my patient, we should go for a drink sometime, I could show you around Wizarding Washington, what do you say?"

"I can't, I'm sorry," she said, giving him an apologetic look.

"Why not?" He frowned. Obviously he wasn't used to being turned down by a woman.

"I have a boyfriend." It tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"I read in the papers that you and Weasley are no longer together."

"And we're not because he's a lying, cheating arsehole," she told him and he arched an eyebrow at her words. "But there's someone else and we're in the stages of a new relationship." He nodded but he didn't look convinced. "Well, I better go, sorry for being a pain in the arse but if the other Healers would've given me a book like I asked for, I wouldn't have been so bored and resorted to badgering tactics. Thank you for taking good care of me," she said with a smile before she took her leave with her bag in hand and her wand tucked beneath her sleeve.

~000~000~000~

Hermione entered the tent to see that nothing was out of place and she took her clothing to her bedroom, putting the clean clothes away and the dirty clothing in the washing basket. She noticed that the bed covers were more rumpled than she remembered them being and she assumed that Seth had been back to the tent at some point. She felt guilty for worrying him.

She had a couple of owls waiting for her, Crystal and Terry, and she gave them a treat as she replied to the letters, sending them on their way when she was finished. After reaching for her beaded bag and slinging it over her shoulder, she took a final glance about her surroundings before exiting the tent and apparating to Port Angeles.

She'd visited Port Angeles once before but hadn't spent a lot of time exploring; she'd only stopped long enough to gather supplies before heading to her final destination. When she landed in the alleyway concealed by two shops, Hermione stepped out onto the street. She had a specific goal in mind for her trip and with that, she headed to a muggle ATM machine to check her bank balance for the Muggle World, immediately noticing that her balance had increased massively since she'd last checked. Her inheritance from her parents' had finally come through, and now that she had what she needed, she headed straight for her intended destination.

~000~000~000~

Everyone had noticed a change in Seth, his pack, his sister, his mother who was worrying herself to the point of her looking exhausted, those at school had noticed, as had his teachers.

He hadn't smiled in days, he hadn't laughed, he barely spoke, he barely interacted with anyone. He went to school only to sit in class, in silence, barely paying attention to those around him or what the teachers were saying. He ate only because he had to in order to keep the wolf from starving. When he left school, he would head home and drop his things off before going straight to Hermione's tent where her scent helped to calm him, curling up on her bed and snuggling into the blanket and pillows where her scent was the strongest. When it was time for patrols, he left and carried out his duties and afterwards he'd returned to Hermione's, doing nothing but laying on her bed in his wolf form, waking the next morning and heading home to ready for school, only to do it all over again.

He missed Hermione, his heart ached for her, his thoughts were about nothing but her and he could feel himself sinking further and further into despair. He knew his packmates and mother were worried that he'd never break out of it, but what did they know? Some of them didn't have imprints and those that did didn't know what it felt like to be without theirs, even Quil saw little Clair at least twice a day. He hadn't seen his Hermione in days and the last time he had, she'd been injured and unconscious in his arms.

Even if he wanted to be happy, he couldn't be without Hermione.

"Seth? Seth?"

Seth lifted his head from his arms and looked around the room, seeing his packmates stood waiting for him at the door of his now empty classroom.

"The bell's gone," Jared said with an arched eyebrow but it did little to ease his worry for the younger wolf.

Seth silently reached for his belongings and threw them into his backpack, standing from his seat and leaving the classroom without a word. He trailed behind the pack as they made their way through the corridors and towards the parking lot, seeing as school had finished for the day.

"Hey, Seth!" A voice called and he stopped in his steps, waiting for whoever it was to catch up.

It was Kayla, Holly and Marie and they surrounded him as he continued walking. They were in the year above him and were always friendly towards him, well, most of the school populace was given how kind he was to everyone. Not many people disliked him and those that did, tended to be the male population due to all the girls trying to flirt with him.

Kayla had long black hair that she tied back into a high ponytail, dark mascara covered her lashes and red lipstick stained her lips. She stood at five-foot-three, tiny compared to him and she craned her neck so that her blue eyes could see his face. Holly had long black hair that she'd pulled into an intricate braid with some hair framing her face. She wore dark mascara and she had dark eye shadow covering her eyelids and bright pink lipstick. She stood at five-foot-four and her green eyes looked up at him questioningly. Marie had shoulder-length dark brown hair which she clipped back from her face, dark mascara covered her lashes and she wore pink eye shadow with a light pink lip stain. She stood at five-foot-three and her blue eyes darted between him and her friends. He could see they were all pretty but they would never compare to his Hermione.

His Hermione looked beautiful without makeup and wearing nothing by sweatpants and tank tops. His Hermione looked beautiful wearing an over-sized sweater, or wearing jeans or pyjamas. To him, she was beautiful no matter her clothing and he missed her.

His thoughts ran away from him and he zoned out of their conversation. He thought about her smile, her laugh, her scent, her chocolate brown eyes, her ivory skin and her soft curls. He _really_ missed her. Where was she? Why hadn't she come back yet? How long would he have to wait?

"Seth?"

He tilted his head down to look at them and they were all looking at him both expectantly and hopefully.

"Sorry?" He said tiredly, running his hand through his hair and then over his face, mussing his hair up.

"D'you want to go to the movies tonight?" Kayla repeated, sharing a glance with her friends. "We've noticed that you've been a little down in the dumps lately and thought we'd cheer you up. We could get dinner too?" She offered, fluttering her eyelashes at him and turning her body towards him so that if he wanted to, he could easily see down her shirt, seeing as the sun was finally making an appearance and the weather was warming up, meaning the girls' clothing lessened.

"I can't," he replied, putting his focus elsewhere as he continued to walk through the halls, being grateful when he finally reached the parking lot and he could go to Hermione's tent and wallow in peace and quiet.

"Why not?" Marie pouted. "Where's our Smiley Seth gone?"

"We don't like seeing you like this, is it a girl that's the cause of this?" Holly asked. His body language gave him away.

"Thought so," Kayla nodded, "Well, it's her loss, but we can make you forget about her, come on, we could have some _fun_ ," she said shamelessly.

Seth prepared a response when he suddenly halted to a dead stop when a familiar scent hit his nose. He'd know it anywhere. He perked up and his eyes lit up in hope as he turned his head this way and that, his eyes searching for the owner. The three older teens noticed and their eyes searched the parking lot, too.

"What're you looking at?" Marie asked, puzzled.

Seth purposely inhaled the air around him, a sigh falling from his lips and his eyes closing briefly and once they opened, his gaze was drawn to the witch he'd been praying to see. Hermione. She was stood off to the left, barely a hundred feet distance between them and she leaned against a sleek black car, one he recognised to be a 2005 BMW X5, a car he'd recently seen in one of Jacob's auto magazines, a cat he could never dream of affording. She was fiddling with something in her hand and looking away from him, but as if sensing his eyes on her, she lifted her head and their gazes locked. Everything fell away, the world was forgotten and it was just the two of them.

Jacob, Jared, Quil, Embry and Paul all halted in their walking after they'd realised that Seth had fallen behind, but when they looked over their shoulders to him staring into the distance, their eyes followed his line of sight, sighing in relief.

"Thank God she's back," Jared muttered and the others nodded in agreement, knowing that Seth would be back to his regular annoyingly optimistic self. They could already see it in the way his mouth was pulling into a smile and his eyes were bright, something they hadn't seen for days. The poor kid had been suffering a fate no wolf with an imprint wished to experience.

Hermione gave Seth a smile and a small wave, a beaming smile spreading across his face, his eyes lighting up with happiness and Hermione felt her breath catch. Merlin! She'd missed him.

She pushed away from her newly purchased car and started walking towards him and she had barely taken three steps when he'd jogged over to her, dropped his backpack to the floor and she found herself being lifted off the ground, held against him tightly as he twirled.

Hermione gave a squeal of surprise, her arms folding around his neck and soft laughter falling from her lips, delighted in the joy that he radiated. He stopped spinning and just held her against him, her feet dangling off the ground but she didn't care. She smiled at him and pressed her forehead against his.

"I missed you," she whispered softly.

"I missed you, too," he whispered back and she smiled at him.

She was surprised when he tilted his head up and pressed his lips to hers, stealing a chaste kiss but it wasn't unwelcome. He drew back slightly, looking at her for approval and she nodded slightly, her mouth twitching at the corners before she lowered her head and kissed him, pressing her lips against his gently and coaxing him out of his hesitation. His arms held her tighter and hers tightened around his neck.

Seth could hear the amused comments, teasing and laughter belonging to his packmates who weren't that far away from them but he ignored them, being grateful that his Hermione was back with him, safe and sound.

Hermione pulled away from him and then buried her head into his neck and he lowered her back to her feet but didn't let go of her, hunching over slightly as she pushed up onto her tiptoes.

"Are you alright?" He breathed out, burying his face in her neck and inhaling her scent deeply, feeling himself go a little lightheaded.

"I'm completely fine, I promise," she assured him. "I'm sorry for worrying you and I hated being at the hospital, I drove the staff mad since I kept badgering them to let me leave. I missed you and just wanted to get back to you as soon as possible," she confessed and she wasn't embarrassed to do so. She felt his smile curve against her skin. "I think they're throwing a party now that I've officially been discharged."

He laughed at her loudly, his body shaking with laughter.

"I really have missed you," he sighed, pulling his face from her neck and pressing his forehead to hers, his eyes closing.

"I missed you more," she replied.

"Doubt it," he argued, his mouth twitching.

"Did too," she fired back, sounding sure of herself. "You had school and your pack to keep you distracted, I had _nothing_ , they wouldn't even let me have a book. I spent hours just staring at four blue walls, I'm thinking about redecorating my kitchen."

He laughed at her and his kind eyes sparkled. She loved it when they did.

"You look exhausted," she observed, frowning in concern, drawing back from him and taking his face in her hands so she could better examine him. He had dark circles under his eyes and she could see the exhaustion hidden behind the happiness sparkling in his beautiful orbs. He hadn't been sleeping but neither had she; she just covered her exhaustion with a Glamour Charm.

"You haven't been sleeping," she stated knowingly, her thumb swiping over his cheekbone and he leaned into her touch, smiling at her.

"I'm fine, honestly, as long as you're okay that's all that matters."

"Your health matters to _me_."

"It's nothing a good's night sleep won't fix," he shrugged.

"You think I'm fussing over you know, just wait until you come to me with a broken arm or a chunk missing out of you, then you'll get the shock of your life." He laughed at her. "I'm being serious, Seth. If a you-know-what ever hurt you, I'd track them down and experiment with a few Fire Charms," she swore.

He fell silent at both her admission and her promise and seeing how protective she was over him made his heart swell and chest pool with affection. She was just as protective of him as he was of her. He pulled her into a hug and nuzzled his nose against her neck but an unexpected throat clearing had them pulling away from each other and Seth sighed when he saw who it was.

"Hermione, this Kayla, Marie and Holly," Seth introduced and like the kind person that she was, Hermione smiled at them, genuinely happy to meet them but Seth could see the instant dislike in the girls' eyes and he felt himself bristle. He put his arm around Hermione's shoulders and pulled her into his side protectively. She looked up at him and smiled, not seeing his concern.

"It's nice to meet you, girls," Hermione replied kindly.

"So you're the _girl_ ," Holly spoke, purposely looking Hermione up and down and realising that she was absolutely gorgeous, she looked away from her with a lift of her chin and a flick of her braid over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, the _girl_?" Hermione's brow furrowed.

"The girl that hurt our Smiley Seth," Kayla piped up, obviously taking a dislike to her as she all but glared at her.

"Smiley Seth?" Hermione's head tilted to the side in confusion.

"You haven't seen him, he hasn't been himself for days."

Hermione felt Seth tense beside her and she brought her hand up and entwined her fingers through the hand that rested over her shoulder and she gave him a squeeze, letting him know that she would handle it.

"Whilst you were swanning off, probably getting your jollies with someone else, he was here, _devastated_ ," she glared unkindly.

Hermione's expression morphed into a less than pleased one, her mouth pulling into a straight line and her posture straightening.

"I wasn't 'swanning off getting my jollies with another man.' I was in hospital because I was attacked by a rapist and murderer," Hermione spoke calmly but her tone significantly colder than before. Kayla's expression quickly morphed into one of horror and mortification, being mirrored by her two friends. "Seth wasn't your 'Smiley Seth' because he was worried about me and my health, he wasn't allowed to visit me and he'd only been informed of my condition upon the first night of my admission into hospital on Saturday, we've had no contact since. So, before you judge people, _Sweetheart_ , I suggest you keep your mouth shut and learn the whole story before you jump to conclusions. That way you don't look like an interfering bitch with jealousy issues."

Seth stared down at her in both surprise and a little bit of awe, unsure of how he should react to her statement or behaviour.

"Seth, are you just going to let her stand there and talk to us that way?" Kayla demanded, looking outraged.

Seth's gaze darted down to the smaller teen and he sighed tiredly.

"I'm sorry, Kayla, but you did just basically call Hermione a slut, and you don't even know her. You think I'm kind? Hermione puts me to shame with her kind heart and selfless acts. The way she spoke to you was justified and you should take her advice, you shouldn't judge people before you know them, that way you'll always have friends and people around you that care and support you."

They stared at him shocked, likely having expected him to defend them even though they were in the wrong.

Hermione turned her eyes from them and to him, not giving them any more of her attention. "What do you say we go back to mine and take a nap, you're exhausted and I haven't slept properly since Saturday," she suggested.

He smiled down at her, wanting nothing more than to have Hermione in his arms against whilst she slept peacefully.

"Let's go," he nodded. "See ya later," Seth called over to his packmates and they chorused a response whilst Hermione simply smiled and waved at them as she rounded the car to the driver's side.

Hermione climbed into the car and started the ignition as Seth climbed into the passenger's seat.

"Wow," he muttered as he perched himself on the soft and comfortable leather seat with enough room to fit his large frame comfortably. He immediately noticed the car had that new car smell and it contained all the bells and whistles available to provide luxury but also to be practical.

"What do you think?" She asked him as she fastened her seatbelt and waited for him to do so. When he did, she checked it was safe to leave her parking space before pulling out and leaving the school, driving through La Push.

"I didn't know you had a car," he commented.

"That's because I didn't, I bought it today, do you like it?" She asked him as she slowed down and signalled to turn left.

"Yeah, it's very smart and comfortable," he nodded, his eyes slowly taking it all in.

She smiled and him, "Check the glove compartment," she instructed.

He glanced at her curiously before doing as she said and he found it empty, all except for a set of car keys.

"What're these for?"

"For you, they're my spare set. You'll have a set and I'll keep one, that way we'll both have access to the car, you do have your license, right?"

"Yeah,"

"Good, then you can drive this car whenever you want to, don't even bother asking, just take it."

"I can't do that, Hermione," he shook his head in surprise.

"Of course, you can," she disagreed. "I'm your imprint, correct?" He nodded slowly, wondering what point she was going to make. "And I've accepted that. I've accepted that you're going to be in my life and that you're going to be my future, so what's mine is yours, therefore this car is half yours, too, we share it. You can use it whenever you want to, you can drive your packmates to school so you don't have to all pile into one car."

"We usually split into two, some of us go with Jacob and the rest go with Jared in his mom's car."

"And I bet it's a tight fit, you can easily get five people in here even with your larger frames and Jared won't have to borrow his mum's car either. And you also have a set of keys because I won't be driving you everywhere, I get tired after a while so you'll have to take over if we ever go on any long trips."

"Such as?" He prompted.

"Well, how about on Saturday we go to Port Angeles for the day?"

"Yeah? Just you and me?" He asked excitedly.

"If you want to invite anyone else you can," she shrugged, laughing when he made a face at the suggestion. "Okay, where am I going?" She asked and he gave her directions to his house.

Hermione pulled up and she smiled at the quaint cabin with faded and chipped paint, the roofing multiple colours and the porch railing damaged.

"It's not much but it's home," he muttered embarrassedly.

"Shut up, I love it," she told him and he looked at her surprised. "What? I _do_ love it. I live in a bloody tent and no matter how magical it is, it's still a tent." He chuckled at her and then made to leave but paused once he'd opened the door. "D'you wanna meet my mom?"

She opened her mouth to reply but her breath hitched and her knuckles went white as she gripped the steering wheel tightly, her face scrunched up in pain, her body tensed and whimpers fell from her lips. Understanding what was happening to her, Seth leaned over and pulled her into him, holding her gently as her body shook against him. After a couple of minutes, her body sagged with the release of her bunched muscles and locked limbs.

"I'm fine now but I don't think I should meet your mum just yet, but soon, I promise."

He nodded and smiled at her before jumping out of the car and dropping his backpack off in his room, bumping into his mother in the kitchen and she faltered at seeing Seth back to his old happy, smiling self.

"Is she back? Is she alright?" She questioned in concern, approaching him and reaching up to take his face in her hands.

He beamed a smile and nodded. "She's back and she's fine, she told me she drove the hospital staff mad for the last three days 'cause she was bored and they wouldn't discharge her." She smiled and chuckled at him, glad to see her son was once again happy. "She's waiting for me outside," he told her. She perked up. "Not yet, Mom, she's just gotten out of hospital and I know she hasn't been sleeping, just as she knows that I haven't been sleeping, either. We're going back to hers for a little while, hopefully, she'll be able to sleep with me there."

She looked disappointed that she wouldn't be meeting Hermione but she nodded, stepping back from him and releasing his face from her gentle grasp.

"Soon, Mom, you'll meet her soon, she promised me."

She smiled at the news and with a kiss on her cheek, Seth left and headed back to the car. Hermione was sat in the passenger's seat and he raised an eyebrow at her as he opened the driver's side door.

"I'm not risking it after the episode, it might happen again whilst I'm driving," she told him.

He nodded and then climbed into the car, adjusting the seat to better fit his larger frame before he drove off. Seth drove as close to the woods as possible and much to his surprise and disbelief, Hermione simply shrunk the car down to fit into the palm of her hand and she apparated them both into her tent.

Whilst Seth dealt with trying not to throw up, Hermione placed a few spells on the car to keep it from returning to its regular size and then they both headed to Hermione's bedroom, kicked off their shoes and climbed into bed. They were asleep within minutes, snuggled together beneath the blanket and Seth's rhythmic heartbeat being her personal lullaby.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 13

**Thursday 8th June 2006**

Seth was surprised when he woke the next morning to the smell of food cooking and he realised that he was alone. Frowning slightly, he looked up at the clock to see it was a little after half six in the morning and he blinked the sleep out of his eyes before climbing out of bed, wandering out of the bedroom and following the smell to the kitchen.

He was surprised to see Hermione dressed and ready for the day, wearing black skinny jeans and black heeled ankle boots along with a black tank top and a blue cardigan knee-length cardigan. Her hair looked to be a little damp and with her comforting scent and strawberries and vanilla being stronger than usual, he surmised she'd already showered, too.

She seemed oblivious to his presence as she potted about the kitchen, her focus darting between frying bacon and sausages in the pan, scrambling eggs and making toast. She startled slightly when she looked over her shoulder before she smiled at him, a soft chuckle falling from her when she saw his messy bed hair.

"Morning, Sunshine," she greeted cheerily in a sing-song voice before she turned her focus to her task of cooking breakfast.

He leaned against the wall, folding his arms over his chest as he watched her fondly, a his mouth pulling up into a smile.

"Morning," he replied, his voice a little groggy from still being half-asleep. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long, maybe half an hour," she shrugged. "I did my best not to wake you but considering you have super hearing, you're dead to the world when you sleep." He arched an eyebrow at her comment. "What? You _are_ ," she insisted. "I tripped over a book and face planted the floor with a squeak and you didn't even move," she told him and he snorted. "Do you want to take the car to school this morning? You could drive the others."

"How 'bout you drive us?" He replied, just wanting to spend as much time with her for as long as possible.

"If you want me to," she shrugged. "I'll leave the car with you and just apparate back here so you can drive yourself home."

"Or you could pick us up," he suggested.

She looked at him over her shoulder, amused. "Or I could pick you up," she repeated as if it had been her suggestion. After seeing his expression, she'd known what it was he was doing.

"Great idea," he chirped and she laughed at him.

"Are you hungry?" She asked him despite already knowing the answer and he nodded vigorously, his stomach seeming to confirm it when it grumbled loudly. "Alright, do me a favour and grab the orange juice from that cupboard," she gestured to the cupboard of her meaning as she placed the food onto their plates.

Pushing away from the wall, he crossed into the kitchen and the correct cupboard that sat above the countertop, pulling open the door and reaching for the carton, a noise of surprise falling from his mouth the coolness hit his skin.

"Cooling and Freezing Charms," she explained without looking away from buttering the toast. "You've no idea how much money I've saved not having to buy a washing machine or dryer, a dishwasher or a fridge freezer."

Hermione levitated the plates over to the coffee table and grabbed the fixings for both tea and coffee followed by glasses and utensils, and then they sat down together eating breakfast before Hermione cleared everything away and Seth helped her despite her protests.

"If you want to change and shower at yours we'll have to leave now, otherwise, you can use my bathroom," she said to him.

"Clothes?"

"I have some men's clothing here, I can charm them to fit you," she shrugged.

"Why d'you have men's clothing here?" His eyebrow arched and was unable to hide the jealousy that sparked through him.

"For when Harry visits, he's always forgetting something and when he takes time off work he always spends the night and goes back the next morning, so I have men's clothing here and they've never been worn, I bought them before arriving here."

"Where does he sleep when he's here?"

"What would you say if I told you he sleeps in my bed with me?" She asked, finding amusement in his expression of anger, disbelief, shock, jealousy, too many emotions for her to name.

"I'd kill him," he replied, his expression far more serious than she'd ever seen on him.

Hermione laughed and gave her head a light shake. "There's not a mean bone in your body, besides, I'd be rather put out with you if you hurt Harry, he's not just my best friend, he's my brother, too," she told him as she approached him before folding her arms around him and pressing her cheek to his overly hot chest, hearing the rhythmic beating of his heart. Whilst it was clear she'd surprised him with her affectionate behaviour, his arms were quick to settle around her, holding her to him gently. "And anyway, you can relax, Harry's a wizard. All he has to do is flick his wand at the couch and it will transfigure into a bed, but seeing as Harry's rubbish at transfiguration, this tent has _two_ bedrooms and he sleeps in the spare room when he visits."

"Good, I don't want anyone else sharing a bed with my girlfriend," he grumbled.

She drew back from his slightly, arching an eyebrow questioningly.

" _Girlfriend_?" She repeated.

Realisation dawned on him and he stuttered, Hermione being close enough that she could see the slight tinting in his cheeks.

"Well... I'm mean... I'm sorry... This is awkward... I didn't mean to assume..."

"Girlfriend?" She repeated once more but this time her mouth twitched into a smile and he must've noticed as he took a deep breath, calming himself and summoning his courage.

"Well, if you don't mind me referring to you as that." His eyes were looking everywhere but her.

She took a moment to think it over and she realised that the thought of her being his girlfriend didn't scare her like she thought it would've. Hadn't she told Healer Baldwin that she had a boyfriend?

"Girlfriend," she nodded with a smile.

"Yeah?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes, girlfriend," she confirmed. He smiled so brightly it was almost blinding and his cheeks must've hurt. "Now, go and get ready for school, I'll leave clothes for you outside of the bathroom door. You'll find everything you need in the bathroom, including men's shower gel and unused toothbrushes, my parents were dentists so I hoard clean toothbrushes."

She kissed his cheek before drawing back from him and gently nudging him towards the corridor, in the direction of the bathroom.

~000~000~000~

Hermione pulled up outside of Seth's house, only to notice that most of the pack were standing by the porch, obviously waiting for him.

"I'll be right back," he said to her before he climbed out of the car and made his way to the house, greeting the surprised pack members before running into the house to grab his backpack.

When she realised they were all staring at her, or more specifically, her car, Hermione wound the window down and stuck her head out. "I only have room for three more so decide between yourselves," she called over to them. They each exchanged glances before Jacob, Quil and Embry silently climbed into Jacob's car whilst Jared and Paul made their way over to her, climbing into the back. "Morning, boys," she greeted cheerfully, turning in her seat to look at them. The look they gave her all but said 'why are you so happy this early in the morning?' and she snorted at them. "Cheer up, it's Thursday."

"And?" Jared asked confused.

"Which means tomorrow's Friday and then you have the weekend to do as you wish, sleep in, pig out, get drunk..." They both arched their eyebrows. "Please, there's not a chance in hell I'd believe you if said you don't drink, especially now when you'd easily get served," she rolled her eyes and they both shrugged.

"So, when did you get a car and why're you driving Seth to school?"

"I bought the car yesterday after being discharged from the hospital and Seth _asked_ me to drive him to school, even though I gave him a set of keys and told him he could use the car as he wished. He'll likely use it more often than I do anyway," she answered and they both blinked in surprise.

"You do realise how expensive these cars are, right?" Paul checked, his eyes darting between the fancy cashmere leather interior and her.

"I should hope so, I bought it,"

"How'd you afford it?" He asked shamelessly.

"Well, Mr. Nosey Parker, if you must know I received my inheritance. I was going to get a car anyway so I might as well have gotten one that I can trust, will offer comfort and be able to fit you all in comfortably since Seth will have access to the car. At the dealership, this was my best option and I quite like it," she replied, turning to face forward when Seth climbed into the passenger's seat and shut the door after him. "All ready to go?"

When he nodded, Hermione sent a glare to Jared and Paul through the rearview mirror until their put their seatbelts on and then she pulled away from Seth's house and started on her journey to their school. Hermione turned on the radio and fiddled with the stations until she found one she liked but after five minutes Paul sat forward and leaned through the middle of the seats to change the station, Hermione batting his hand away and scowling at him.

"I don't think so, I'm driving and so I pick the station," she told him. He all but pouted at her and she childishly stuck her tongue out at him, turning the station back to the one she wanted as Seth and Jared laughed at them.

"You're looking better today?" Jared commented, observing Seth.

"I feel better now that Hermione's back," Seth agreed. "I slept until patrols, Hermione made food when I got back and then I fell asleep and didn't wake until breakfast," he shrugged.

"You should've seen his little show of jealousy," she smirked with Seth scowling and crossing his arms.

"Jealousy?" They chorused, leaning forward in their seats.

"Hmm, he got jealous when I told him I had men's clothing he could wear."

"And _why_ do you have men's clothing?" Jared asked her.

"For when Harry visits," she shrugged. "He's always leaving things behind in London and so I have spare clothing for him, I bought it before I even moved here, most of it still has the tags on and with a little magic I can alter them to fit any size or build. So, if you're running around naked in the woods and need clothes, I have some that you can have. He mostly got jealous when he asked me where Harry slept."

"I told you, there's not a chance in hell I'm letting another man sleep in my girlfriend's bed," Seth pouted.

"Girlfriend?" Jared and Paul chorused, both perking up, smirking in Seth's direction and he looked embarrassed.

"Girlfriend," Hermione confirmed, sending Seth a smile which seemed to set him at ease.

"Aww, Little Seth's got a girlfriend," Paul teased, leaning forward and getting Seth in a headlock whilst Jared ruffled his hair.

"Get off," Seth growled, trying to push them away. Hermione smiled and shook her head at their antics as she focused on the road.

"Hermione, aren't you gonna help me?" Seth asked, his voice muffled by Jared's hand which had clamped over his mouth.

"Sorry, I can't, I made a vow on my life and magic to never hurt a member of your Tribe or pack."

"That was serious?" Jared frowned, pulling away from Seth to look at her. She looked up and caught his gaze in the rearview mirror.

"Yes, it was serious. If I were to ever harm a member of your pack or Tribe, or if the Unbreakable Vow deems my actions to be harmful towards you, the magic of the bond will take my life as a consequence of breaking the vow," she explained. A growl slipped from Seth's mouth at the thought of losing her over the stupid vow.

Paul released him from his hold and turned his eyes to her. "If you knew the consequences why'd you make the vow with Sam?"

"You were wary of me and you'd seen what I was capable of. I didn't want to give you any reason not to trust me, I am not your enemy but your ally, and making that vow was my way of showing you that. I don't want you to be hesitant around me, I don't want you to be afraid of me or of magic. You're a part of a world that you wouldn't believe existed and I'm talking about much more than vampires. The things I could show you, teach you..." She shook her head lightly, her curls bouncing in her face before she reached up and pushed them over her shoulder. "You belong in my world and the day I was brought into the Wizarding World is the day that my life changed for the best and the worst but I wouldn't change my experiences. I want to be able to give you the same experiences that I'm able to have and I can't do that if you don't trust me. So, yes, I might die if one of you pisses me off and I accidentally set you on fire, but it's worth the risk of knowing that the price I pay is the reason you trust me. And believe me, I _am_ your ally. If you need help with anything and I'm able to provide that then I will, no matter the cost."

They all stared at her, contemplating her words. Paul and Jared shared looks with each other, both having the same thought whilst Seth watched her fondly.

"Is there a way for you to break this vow? To stop you from dying?" Jared asked.

"There is a way, yes," she nodded, briefly slowing down the car to a stop to allow a mother and her three children to cross the road. "Both members of the vow have to agree to abolish all the terms of the contract made between the two."

"So any member of the pack could free you from your vow?" Seth asked hopefully, visibly perking up in his seat.

"No, it has to be the Alpha of the pack, and as the vow also included the Tribe, an important member of your Tribe also has to agree to the abolishment of the terms of the contract, and only then will I be free."

They fell silent for the remainder of the journey and when they arrived at the school and pulled into a parking space, Hermione said,

"Right, boys, off you go, I'll be back later to pick you up."

"Trying to get rid of us?" Paul's mouth twitched in amusement.

"Yes," she replied without missing a beat, "That's why I told you to get out of my car, I thought it was obvious."

Laughter bubbled from Seth as they both stared at her in disbelief.

"What will you do if I don't leave?" Paul challenged, leaning back and crossing his arms, smirking in her direction.

Hermione smiled at him sweetly, to anyone else, that would've been a sign to leave and leave quickly but they didn't know her like Harry or the Weasleys.

"I'm guessing you have a healthy sex life," she started, both Seth and Jared snorted at the statement, knowing Paul was the man-whore of their school. "How would you feel if I were to take that away from you? Say I had the ability to affect a certain part of your anatomy?"

"It's not possible," he replied confidently.

"Believe me, it is," her eyes glimmered with challenge.

"See ya later," he said quickly, jumping out of the car and shutting the door behind him, getting as far away from her as possible.

Jared and Seth laughed loudly. "You've just become my new favourite person," Jared said through his laughter before he climbed out of the car and joined Paul.

Seth calmed to chuckles and she smiled at him. "Could you really do it?"

"Yes, I could, not only is there a spell for it, but there's also a potion, and even though I said I wouldn't harm any of the pack, that doesn't mean I can't have Fred and George do it for me," she grinned and he shook his head at her amusedly. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya later," he replied and he beamed when she leaned over to give him a quick kiss.

He climbed out of the car and Hermione rolled the window down. "Have a good day at school," she called, he turned and waved and she responded as she pulled out of the parking space. "Have a good day, boys," she called as she drove past Quil, Embry and Jacob who were climbing out of Jacob's car.

They nodded in her direction and made their way over to Seth and Jared who were laughing at a nauseous-looking Paul.

"Why're you laughing?" Quil tipped his head.

"And why do you look like you're about to barf?" Embry added, looking to Paul.

Jared and Seth looked at each other and their laughter grew louder as Paul grumbled and glared at them.

"Hermione said she'd ruin his sex life if he didn't get out the car by using magic on..." Jared sniggered, pointing to his groin and the three teens blinked before wincing sympathetically.

"She can really do that?" Jacob's eyebrow arched questioningly.

"Apparently so," he nodded.

They took one look at Paul's face before laughter burst from them and Paul scowled before storming away, leaving their laughter behind.

~000~000~000~

It was the early hours of the morning when Hermione was woken from her dreams of being chased by a sandy wolf.

"Hello?" The voice sounded hesitant and tired.

Sighing, she sat up in bed and quickly noticed that Seth wasn't there which meant he was out on patrols. She climbed out of bed and grabbed her wand, pushing her curls out of her face and stretching with her hands above her head before she made her way through the tent, coming to a stop at the entrance.

"Are you in there?"

Hermione hid her wand behind her back before peeking her head outside. "Paul?" She blinked in surprise. He shifted on his feet nervously and she frowned at the gesture. "Do you want to come in?" She asked him. He eyed the tent before nodding wearily and she stepped back, allowing him space to enter, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"Fuck!" he muttered. She rolled her eyes before she crossed into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea.

"Do you want a drink? I have water, milk, orange juice, tea, coffee, pumpkin juice, cola," she offered.

"Cola," he replied.

She nodded and grabbed one out of the cupboard and once she'd finished fixing her tea, she handed him the drink and gestured to the couch whilst she took a seat on the armchair.

"What do I owe the pleasure of a visit from you?" She asked, taking a sip of her tea and savouring the taste, closing her eyes and a small smile playing at her mouth. When she opened her eyes she noticed that Paul was staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing," he muttered, averting his eyes and taking a large swig from his cola, his other hand oddly pressed against his left side and she tilted her head.

"Seriously, why were you staring at me, is my hair really that bad?" Her brow furrowed and her hand reached up to touch her hair, feeling the frizziness of her bed hair.

"No, it's not your hair," he replied.

She looked down at herself. "My clothing?" She asked him, referring to the fact she was wearing a lilac button-up sleep shirt that fell to her mid-thigh with the sleeves falling to her wrists.

"No, it's not your clothing? Are you comfortable in that?"

She shrugged casually. "I have to wear material such as this to bed as it doesn't irritate any of my scars. As they are magically induced they tend to flare up once in a while, no matter how old they are."

"I meant are you comfortable with _me_ being here with you wearing that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" She tilted her head slightly, puzzled. "It's not like I'm a prude, though others would say otherwise," she grumbled the last part. "I've had every detail of my sex life splashed across the front page of the biggest newspaper in Wizarding Britain and I spent the better part of a year on the run in a confined space with two hormonal teenage boys, it takes a lot to embarrass me."

She noticed him shift uncomfortably. "So you're not a virgin then?" he muttered, once more averting his gaze.

"What does it matter if I've had sex or not?" She arched her eyebrow. "I don't understand how we've gotten so far off topic anyway. Why are you here?"

He leaned forward to put his drink on the table, a grunt of pain falling from him despite it being obvious he'd tried to contain it. Hermione's eyes widened when she saw that underneath his jacket, the white t-shirt he wore was covered in blood. She dropped her tea in surprise, the mug shattering against the hard floor and the hot liquid splashing everywhere.

"Merlin, what the hell happened?" Her voice rose in alarm as he closed the distance between them, falling to her knees before him.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"Don't lie to me," she snapped, surprising him. "Show me," she demanded.

"It's nothing, it'll heal," he waved her off.

"You either show me or I'll hex you and I don't give a flying fuck if I die."

Her glare was a little frightening, Paul silently admitted, and he observed her carefully. He knew she wouldn't let it be and he tried to sit forward but a hiss of pain left him.

"I'll do it," she said to him, standing to her feet and helping him to remove his jacket.

A gasp of horror fell from her when she saw that it wasn't just a small patch of blood but it covered the entire left side of the t-shirt and it dripped down onto his jeans.

Hermione moved her hands to the hem of his t-shirt and his much larger hands easily caught both of her wrists, halting her in her movements. She lifted her gaze, catching his dark eyes.

"Just let me see," she pleaded softly. "I can't help you if I don't know what I'm dealing with."

His eyes searched hers before reluctantly released her and she took a deep breath before slowly and carefully peeling away the t-shirt that was plastered to him.

"Sweet Circe, is that a _stab_ wound!?" Her voice rose once more, staring at the blood-covered wound on his life side and it stretched partially around to his stomach. He nodded silently in response. "I'll be right back."

"Leave it, it'll heal, I have accelerated healing," he told her.

"I know you do, Seth told me everything, but a wound like that will take at least two days to heal, even with abilities such as yours, especially when there's still a part of the blade in the wound." He looked surprised by her words before lowering his gaze, seeing that she was right; the firelight in the tent glinted off the silver blade that was firmly lodged in his side. "I can help you if you let me."

He lifted his gaze to lock with hers and seeing that she was practically begging him with her eyes, he relented and nodded his permission. She didn't speak as she darted out of the room and he watched her leave but she returned moments later with her arms laden with items, some he recognised, some he didn't. Dropping them all onto the table, she turned to face him, her expression thoughtful.

"Okay, I need you to lay down flat for me," she instructed, reaching out to help him until his large frame was lying down on the couch, his feet almost hanging over the armrest. She perched on the edge of the cushion beside him, pulling her bushier than usual hair over one shoulder to keep it out of the way. "I'll try my best not to hurt you but I can't make any promises," she said softly as she reached over to the table, grabbing her wand and a towel.

She gently placed her left hand beside the open wound and used her right hand to carefully but quickly remove the broken blade, dropping it onto the table and covering the wound with the towel, applying pressure to help stem the bleeding. A hiss slipped past his lips and his jaw ticked, Hermione feeling awful for having hurt him but it to be done.

"The next course of action is your choice. I can heal you myself or we can wait for your body to heal itself."

"How long would it take for you to heal me?"

She nibbled her lip thoughtfully. "Maybe thirty minutes, but you may still be a little sore a couple of days after."

"You heal me," he decided.

"Hold this for me," she instructed, reaching for his hand and pressing it against the towel before letting go and reaching for potion bottles. "Down the entire vial, it'll taste disgusting but I promise it'll make you feel better fairly quickly." She handed him the Pain Potion.

"What is it?" He asked, looking at the strange liquid apprehensively.

"It's basically magical morphine, just down it and get it over with," she instructed. He downed the potion after she glared at him and he gagged at the taste. "In a couple of minutes the pain should fade and when it does I'll heal you, I just need to try to slow down the bleeding first."

They waited in silence until Paul confirmed that the pain had dulled considerably and then she removed the towel before casting a _Tergeo_ to clean the wound. Once done, she placed a few drops of Dittany onto the wound and they both watched as smoke formed around the wound and it slowly began to grow smaller and smaller in size.

"What happened? Who stabbed you?"

"It doesn't matter," he sighed tiredly.

"Well, it damn well matters to me. I want to know why you're bleeding all over my couch. _Who_ hurt you and _why_ did it happen?"

His eyes locked with hers before he avoided her penetrating gaze, accepting defeat.

"I was walking down the beach when I was jumped by three guys, one of them stabbed me and they ran before I could do anything. The shock of the stabbing prevented me from phasing. As for why, I slept with their girlfriends, not that I knew that until I was stabbed. They told me they were single."

"This wasn't your fault," she told him softly. "It's just as much their fault as it is your attackers. And they _will_ pay for this; I promise I won't let them get away with this."

"I'm leaving it," he muttered.

"You may leave it, but I won't," she told him, a fierce and protective look crossing her face. "I'm Hermione Granger and if there's one thing that I never do, it's back down to bullies. They won't get to walk free, I'll make sure of it. How they'll face the consequences for their actions I'm not so sure yet, but I'm known for being quite vengeful when the time calls for it." She turned her attention back to his wound and she covered it in Murtlap Essence to help repair the skin and to keep the wound closed until it sealed completely.

"Take this for me," she told him, handing him the Blood Replenishing Potion.

"What is it?"

"Blood Replenishing Potion, a blood transfusion in a bottle, only it doubles the blood in your body. Based on the amount of blood loss, I would say you need to take three-quarters of the vial. You shouldn't feel as lightheaded afterwards." He did as she asked and she took the vial and placed it on the table. "I need to get some food into you, are you hungry?"

"A little," he shrugged.

She snorted. "Please... When Seth told me he was 'a little' hungry, he ate two meals, dessert, a bowl of cereal _and_ three chocolate bars," she called over her shoulder after heading to the kitchen.

She washed her hands, removing all of Paul's blood from her skin and she pulled out some food for him and with a few charms, it was ready for eating. Seeing as she didn't want to risk moving him just yet whilst the Essence of Murtlap dried, she helped him to eat his food, something he seemed a little embarrassed about.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?"

"Can I?"

She nodded. "If you want to, I'll make up the spare room for you, I'll be right back."

Hermione left him on the couch and she made her way to the spare bedroom. It was identical to hers only she enlarged the double bed to a queen-sized bed to better fit his larger frame. Seth took up a lot of space in her bed and he was three inches shorter than Paul. She summoned some clean sheets, pillows and a duvet before quickly making the bed and then she returned to Paul, seeing him being half-asleep on the couch, the events of the day finally catching up with him.

"Come on, you weigh far more than me so you're going to have to help me here," she told him and between the two of them, they managed to get him to his feet and she supported him the best she could as she guided him to the bedroom, Paul taking a seat on the edge of the mattress and his eyes darting about curiously. "I'll have to check on the wound tomorrow morning and maybe tomorrow evening, just to be sure it's healed the way it should've. Do you need anything?"

He shook his head and with a wave of her wand, she summoned some pyjamas for him and quickly resized them to fit him.

"I'll leave you to it, the bathroom's to your left if you need to use it, feel free to use the shower, too. If you need me, just shout, I'm only two doors down." She smiled at him and turned to leave the room, stopping when she reached the door as Paul said.

"Thank you," he said quietly. She looked over her shoulder to see him looking down at the ground. "You didn't have to help me."

"I told you, Paul, I am your ally. If there is anything that I can do for you or your pack then I will. I don't want you to be afraid of magic, not all magic is dark and destructive, there's good and healing magic, too. If you need help you'll find it in me, always," she promised. "Good night, Paul, I'll see you in the morning."

She quickly walked over to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek before leaving the room and his surprised expression behind her. She didn't bother cleaning the mess in the living room being too exhausted and she headed back to bed.

~000~000~000~

Seth felt concerned the moment he entered Hermione's tent. The smell of blood was overpowering, and when he spotted the blood drops on the floor, the dried pool on the couch and the blood-soaked towel and empty potion bottles, he ran straight to Hermione's room before sighing in relief when he saw that she wasn't hurt in any way, but she did have blood covering her nightshirt.

He phased and pulled on some jean shorts before climbing into bed and she turned to face him, she was awake and she had an angry but pained look on her face.

"What happened?" He asked her softly.

She sat up and flicked her wand casting a Silencing Charm around the room before she flung herself at Seth and he caught her, hugging her to him as she cried softly, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Hermione, what happened? Why is there blood all over your living room? Why is there blood on your clothes?"

She sniffled and drew back from him and he reached up to wipe her tears away with his thumbs, his eyes sweeping her face carefully.

"Paul showed up here," she started. He stiffened, both due to him knowing that Paul was _attracted_ to Hermione and him also knowing that Paul wouldn't go to Hermione unless it was important. "He was hurt, he'd been attacked by three men, one of them stabbed him and he couldn't phase. I don't even know how he got here; as soon as I asked him to take off his shirt and lie down he looked about ready to pass out. I had to beg him to let me heal him and he eventually agreed."

He started at her in surprised horror. He couldn't believe that one of his packmates had been hurt and in such a way.

"Is he okay?" He asked her softly.

She nodded and sniffled. "I healed him the best I could as magic can heal him faster than your accelerated healing. I've given him something for the pain, he's sleeping in the spare bedroom. I'll have to check the wound in the morning and in the evening, but he should be fine. They're not going to get away with hurting him, I promise, Seth. I'll make sure they face the consequences for what they did to him."

"Why did they do it? Did he say?"

She nodded. "He slept with their girlfriends but he didn't know, he believed the girls to be single, they lied to him. He wasn't lying to me, I _know_ he wasn't."

"I believe you," he said softly, pulling her back into him, running his hands through her hair.

"They'll pay for what they did," she vowed in a whisper and they were her last words before she fell asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 5

**Friday 9th June 2006**

"Seth, Seth, wake up," Hermione's soft voice tingled in his ears. He gave a sleepy grumble and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him.

She gave a soft chuckle and laid her head over his heart, listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart. Her damp hair tickled his chin and her scent filled his nose. It seemed that she'd been up a while and had already showered and dressed for the day.

"Seth, you have to get up."

"Don't wanna, too comfortable," he mumbled, burying his face in her damp hair.

"You'll be late for school if you don't get up now," she warned.

"I'll ditch for the day."

"Like hell you will, education's an important part of life, besides, it's Friday today and tomorrow we're going to Port Angles, remember? So, up you get and I'll make you breakfast," she told him, wriggling free of his arms and he grumbled.

When he didn't move or make any attempt to do so, she yanked the blanket off him, not that it bothered him having a body temperature of one hundred and eight degrees. She huffed and crossed her arms. _Honestly, it was just like being at the Burrow._

"Seth, if you don't get up, I'll turn to magical means."

His slowly peeled his eyes open and turned to face her. "You wouldn't," he said disbelievingly.

"I would, I have a lot of experience forcing teenage boys to get out of bed, I've perfected my technique of the years," she said lightly.

He simply blinked before slowly climbing out of bed and she smiled knowingly. Hermione turned and left for the kitchen, preparing breakfast whilst Seth readied for school and he entered the kitchen just as she finished plating up the pancakes.

"Do you mind driving yourself to school today?" She asked him, levitating everything over to the table in the living room and taking a seat on the floor with Seth beside her.

"You're not coming today?"

"No, I have something I need to do."

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

"I have to make a quick trip back to England," she answered, seeing the alarm that flittered across his face. "Don't worry, I'll be back well before you get out of school, I'll hopefully only be gone an hour, two at most."

Relief flooded him and it showed on his face.

"Why d'you have to go back to England?"

"I need to see Kingsley, he'll be at the Ministry and the situation that I need help with is delicate."

He arched an eyebrow at her choice of words but didn't question her further, not being certain he actually wanted to know.

"Have you woken Paul?"

"No," she shook her head, "I've written a note for him, there's not a chance in hell he's going to school today and there certainly isn't a chance that I'm going to let him leave here until I'm certain his wound's healed and he's healthy."

"You're a mother hen, aren't you?" His eyes sparkled and his mouth twitched.

"Through and through," she admitted with a nod, seeing no point in denying it.

"What does the note say?"

"That he's got food poisoning. If I give it to you will you give it to whomever it needs to go to for me?"

"Sure," he shrugged.

"And don't tell anyone about what happened last night, including the pack. It's Paul's business and if he wants them to know then he'll tell them. He put a lot of trust in me when he came here and I'm not going to risk losing that. I get the feeling that despite all of his bravado and confidence, Paul's very cautious with those he trusts."

The corner of Seth's mouth twitched as she continued to eat her breakfast and when they were done, Hermione walked Seth out of the tent and she apparated them to the side of a road before she resized the car and gave him the keys and with a quick kiss, she sent him on his way.

Hermione apparated back to her tent and she checked on Paul, seeing that he was asleep, his breathing even and deep. She cast an alert charm around the room before grabbing her beaded bag and she apparated to Port Angeles, headed into the only wizarding pub in the area, and she used the floo in the pub to take her to the British Ministry of Magic.

~000~000~000~

**London: The Ministry of Magic**

She placed a Disillusionment Charm on herself and made her way towards the Minister's Office, sending off her Patronus to alert Kingsley to her arrival. Despite that it was late evening in England, she knew the work hours Kingsley kept and she knew he would be there.

She slipped past the secretary undetected as she was too busy filing her nails to even notice the slight shimmer that surrounded Hermione and before she could knock on the door it opened and Kingsley chuckled, moving aside to let her in. As soon as the door shut Hermione cancelled the Disillusionment Charm and she made her way to sit at the desk.

"You really ought to get a new secretary, Kingsley," Hermione spoke. "I walked straight past that one and she was too busy filing her nails to notice that I walked by her under the disguise of a Disillusionment Charm, and it was cast carelessly, I could have easily been spotted if she were paying attention. Not to mention my boots were clacking against the floor and I didn't cast a Silencing Charm."

He sighed and took his seat behind the large cherry oak desk. "I know but I owe a favour to a friend of mine, when she's been here long enough to not back out of the deal, I'll have her replaced with a more suitable candidate."

"That's ridiculous," Hermione huffed.

"That's politics, Hermione." He simply smiled and shrugged. "How are you feeling?"

"Honestly, I feel a lot better than I have in a long time. My injuries are all healed and the bite mark from Greyback will scar but there's no trace of venom in my system."

"It's a big feat, what you did, bringing down five Death Eaters by yourself, one of which was Fenrir Greyback." Hermione blushed at the praise of the Minister.

"I didn't do it by myself," she corrected, "I held them off as long as I could, I was just lucky Harry arrived with the cavalry when he did, otherwise I would've been a prisoner of Greyback's."

"He does seem to have an unnatural obsession with you," he frowned thoughtfully. "You have nothing to fear, Hermione, Greyback will never be released from prison, it hasn't yet been decided if he'll be given the dementor's kiss, but if it is decided that he will be spared that fate, he will be kept in the deepest parts of Azkaban, secluded from other inmates and during the full moon, he will be fed enough Wolfsbane to keep him sedated."

"Shame," she muttered.

Kingsley looked to her sadly. "I know that his crimes are truly horrific, some of them worse than Voldemort himself, but that does not mean we have the right to kill him. We are not them Hermione, we have morals and we have a conscience. Being responsible for the death of another will have a deep impact on us, no matter how awful the person was or what they were guilty of."

"The world's still better off without him in it," she grumbled.

"I agree, and that is why he will be secluded from the others, it will be as though he no longer exists."

"Better than nothing, I suppose," she sighed, "Seclusion will drive him to insanity, well, if he has any sanity left, that is."

"We found his camp."

"You did?" Her voice rose in surprise. "Harry never mentioned it."

"It was the night before last, we arrested and detained every member of the pack present and as far as we can tell, we have everyone."

"What will happen to them?"

"Those that are guilty of a crime will likely be sentenced to Azkaban, those that aren't will be sent to a sanctuary to help integrate them into wizarding society and any children will be placed in a foster care system. Those that are old enough will attend Hogwarts and have their own space for full moon transformations."

"I can't imagine the Wizengamont agreeing to that," she replied with a scowl, folding her arms over her chest. He chuckled at her.

"They don't have a choice, new laws are being brought in and old laws are being abolished, werewolves will soon have rights, as any magical being should. The reason most werewolves live the lives they do is due to the restrictions and hatred they receive, we remove that and we remove the reason for them wanting to behave like monsters."

"I can't believe I lived to see Pureblood bollocks eradicated _and_ everyone to have equal rights."

"You were a big help, Hermione, your campaigns and involvement in the process were what really pushed us to convince the public we are doing the right thing." He gave her a smile. "Now, I'm sure you didn't come all this way to talk about Greyback and werewolf rights."

"I didn't," she nodded, "I'm actually here because I need your help."

He sat taller in his chair. "If I can help you I will."

"Thank you, has Harry explained my life in Forks?"

He nodded. "He has, he's spoken in detail about you being the life mate of a shape-shifter that is a member of a pack that protects their Tribe from vampires."

"That's correct and before you worry, Seth treats me very well, better than I deserve," she assured him. "It's a very similar circumstance to that of veelas and their mates. I'm spending more time around the pack and they're starting to trust me and hopefully, they'll soon see me as an ally. At the moment, they've accepted me due to my being Seth's life mate as it's against the laws of the pack for an imprint to be harmed, due to the great suffering it causes the shape-shifter. Last night a member of the pack came to me, he was injured." Kingsley sat further forward, clasping his hands and resting his arms on his desk, giving her his full attention. "It took me a while to convince him to allow me to heal him but I did eventually. He was ambushed and attacked by three muggle men, one of which was carrying a knife. He was stabbed and they ran off and left him. He wasn't able to shift due to shock and I'm not entirely sure how he made it to my tent, either."

"And what would you like my help with?"

"Paul told me to leave it be, but I can't. I consider Paul to be my friend."

"And I know how protective you are of your friends, particularly if someone has wronged them," Kingsley nodded knowingly.

"I need your help in making sure Paul's attackers pay for what they've done. If Paul were a regular muggle he would've died. They should be charged with attempted murder as they took a weapon with them and they _intended_ to ambush him."

"Agreed," he nodded. "Do we know the identity of these men and why they attacked your friend?"

"Paul slept with their girlfriends but he didn't know it at the time, he believed the girls to be single. As for their identities, I may have slipped into Paul's mind without him knowing when he refused to tell me who they were," she said sheepishly and he chuckled at her. "I can give you my memories so that you have their faces, but no names are mentioned."

"I'll take your memories and send someone over as soon as possible. I'll have them coordinate with the local police force and when they have something, you'll be the first to know."

"Thank you, Kingsley, I really appreciate it."

~000~000~000~

**La Push**

Hermione arrived back at the tent after apparating from Port Angles and after checking in on Paul and seeing that he was still asleep, she retrieved some clean clothes for him, resized them and left them in the room for him before retreating to the living room to continue with her research.

She felt herself soon dozing off, her head lolling to the side before springing back up and her eyes widened. After it happening several times more, she gave up and got herself more comfortable on the armchair and continued with her research, soon falling asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 6

**Friday 9th June 2006**

Paul gave a sleepy groan as he stretched out his body with his arms clasped above his head before he slowly pushed himself up until his back hit the pillows and headboard behind him. He rubbed a hand over his face and took in his strange surroundings, reality coming back to him as he remembered the previous happenings of the night before.

He couldn’t believe that he’d allowed himself to let his guard down, he couldn’t believe that he’d allowed himself to be hurt in such a way and he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t been able to phase. He knew the stabbing wouldn’t have killed him, his accelerated healing would’ve stopped that from ever becoming an issue, but the thought of a powerful being such as himself being injured, made him realise that he wasn’t as untouchable as he believed himself to be. He was human and he could die.

He didn’t know what’d possessed him to find the tent of his packmate’s imprint and to be honest, he barely remembered how he’d gotten there. He just remembered her words, her promises of being an ally and for some reason that he couldn’t explain, he believed her. He believed that she wouldn’t hurt a member of the pack, he believed that she’d rather die than use the dark magic she’d mentioned. He believed her when she said she would die if she broke the vow she’d made with Sam.

Paul found it difficult to trust people, he found it hard to show his emotions, often covering them up with a cocky attitude and a smirk but he got the feeling that Hermione saw right through his act. He didn’t know why but he trusted her.

He sighed and he looked down at his side, the stab wound appeared to be healed, leaving a nasty looking scar. When he touched it, he hissed when pain shot through him. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t _completely_ healed yet.

Deciding that he should probably get up and ready for school, he shifted out of bed and seeing the clothes left on the bedside table, he realised they’d been left for him. Snatching them up off the surface, he exited the bedroom and found the bathroom easily enough and he shut the door behind him. He found that it was a simple bathroom decorated in white and black and it consisted of a toilet, a shower, a sink, a mirrored cabinet, a laundry basket and a linen closet.

He searched the linen closet and found a towel, and much to his surprise, and actual box filled with still packaged toothbrushes. He grabbed one and proceeded to shower, washing away the remainder of the blood that covered his skin, washing the sand out of his hair and washing the happenings of the previous night away.

He dried and dressed in the clothes he was surprised to find fit him perfectly before brushing his teeth, putting the towel in the laundry basket and leaving the bathroom, heading down the hallway he knew led to the living room and kitchen, halting to a stop at the sight that met him. Hermione was curled up on the armchair, a book lay open and rested against her knees whilst her head had fallen to the side, resting against the backrest of the armchair. Her breathing was even and deep and he took a step forward, almost shitting himself at what happened next.

Before he could blink, Hermione had stood, wide awake and alert with her wand pointed in his direction. He held his hands up in surrender and his eyes blinked at the wild look of fear he saw in her eyes. She blinked several times before slowly dropping her wand arm and she fell down onto the armchair, rubbing at her eyes and pushing her hair out of her face.

“Sorry,” she sighed, sounding tired. “My instincts are still in ‘war mode’ and it’s hard to contain them,” she explained.

He shrugged and sat down on the couch, watching as she flopped against the back of the armchair after she’d picked up her fallen book and set it on the table.

“I didn’t expect you to be up for a while yet,” she commented.

“I can’t afford to miss any more days of school, they’re already suspicious of me. Where’s Seth? Still asleep?”

Hermione blinked at him and he was confused when she laughed softly and shook her head.

“No, he’s at school. Paul, it’s almost one o’clock in the afternoon.” His eyes widened in surprise at the news. “I didn’t want to wake you considering the stress you went through last night. Seth, on the other hand, was a nightmare to wake up. You’d think that someone with hearing like his would be more aware of those around him. It took me ages to convince him he had to go to school,” she shook her head. “As for you, I gave Seth a note saying you had food poisoning.”

“No one’s going to believe that.”

“Well, seeing as I signed myself as your doctor, they should.”

“You impersonated a doctor?” he spoke disbelievingly.

“I may have done,” she said sheepishly.

He blinked at her before laughter rumbled from his chest and he couldn’t control it.

“You’re something else,” he commented amusedly.

“You’re not the first person to say that to me,” she shrugged. “Anyway, now that you’re awake, I need to check on your wound”

“It’s fine,” he shrugged. She simply arched a challenging eyebrow and he knew she didn’t believe him.

“I need to have a look at it now and maybe once more later this evening, I need to make sure it’s healed the way it should’ve, otherwise I’ll have to reopen the wound and start again and it’ll be a painful process,” she warned. 

He sighed defeat and she smiled victoriously, standing and moving over to the couch. He laid down and lifted his shirt to gave her better access like she gestured for him to do, and she perched on the edge of the cushion beside him. The tip of her wand hovered over the scar and he watched as a crinkle appeared in her forehead. She ran her finger over the scar lightly and he hissed in a breath, causing her frown to deepen.

“It appears to be almost healed, as far as I can tell, the wound’s sealed quite nicely. I removed all of the blade and there’s no fragments left. The reason for the pain and tenderness is likely due to the muscle, it hasn’t completely healed, or in this case, re-grown. I had to remove a small amount as it had gripped the knife blade in order to stop it from going into your body any deeper and preventing further damage. Muscle is hard to grow back, even with your healing capabilities. I’ll have a look through my supplies and see if I have anything to aid in muscle re-growth. I know I have a Muscle Relaxant Cream which should dull the pain. Hopefully, the wound will be completely healed by tomorrow and as for your scar, it isn’t permanent. Due to your accelerated healing and the cream I will give you, it should be gone by the morning, leaving no evidence of what happened.”

Nodding to herself, she lifted her eyes from his stomach and to his face, catching his gaze.

“Seth knows,” she told him, waiting for him to explode knowing that he had a volatile nature. But he didn’t, he just stared at her blankly. “I couldn’t lie to him, I was covered in your blood, not to mention, so weremy couch, towels and table. I told him what happened and he’s promised me that he won’t tell the other members of your pack unless you do so yourself. That will be your decision.” He stared her at her in silence, an unreadable expression on his face. “I’ll look through my stores for the potions and creams,” she stood and left the room, not giving him the chance to reply.

She was gone fifteen minutes before she returned and it was to see that he’d shifted so he was now sitting up, his head tilted back and staring up at the ceiling.

“You’re in luck, this is my last Muscle Re-growth Potion, and I managed to find the Muscle Relaxant Cream, too. Down the entire vial in one go, it won’t taste as awful that way.” She handed him the potion and without thought he did as she said, gagging at the taste. “Good, I’ll apply the cream and you should be fine, until I next check on you, that is.”

He lifted his shirt once more and Hermione carefully placed the cold cream on and around the scar. The moment she drew back and reapplied the lid, he could already feel the tension in his body beginning to relax.

“Better?”

“Yeah, better,” he confirmed, receiving a pleased smile. “Are you a doctor in your world?” He asked her as she wiped her hands clean on a towel she’d summoned.

“A Healer,” she corrected, “And, no, I’m not. I have my basic and emergency magical first aid qualification, though most of those that fought in the war have them, as well as those that train to be an Auror, it’s a requirement. When I returned to school to complete my education, I spent a lot of time in the hospital wing with Madam Pomphrey and when I went home for the weekends, I volunteered at St. Mungo’s Hospital. I learned most of my medical knowledge through that. But some things you don’t need to be a Healer for, sometimes you just need to know the counter curses and it fixes you right up.”

She stood and made her way over to the kitchen and he stood and followed after her, leaning against the counter as she pulled food from her cupboards and proceeded to prepare them for eating.

“Is this what your friends sent you?” He asked her, watching as she removed the packaging from a lasagne and one from a cottage pie.

“Yes,”

“How’re they still edible?”

“Stasis Charms, they keep food fresh, they protect food from flies and insects and we have charms for cooling, heating and freezing, therefore I don’t need a fridge-freezer, just a few cupboards to store them in. Under the charms, the food should be good for a couple of weeks, maybe a month, depending on what the food is.”

“Why do they send you food?”

“I can’t cook,” she said simply and with a grimace on her face. He snorted at her. “I honestly can’t cook, I’m rubbish. My father couldn’t cook either and although my mother could, as I got older we spent less and less time together. When I went to Hogwarts I hardly saw them, I spent most of my time at school or at the Weasleys for the school holidays. And although Mrs. Weasley is an amazing cook, I never had time to learn from her, I was too busy fighting a war, after that, I returned to school and then I moved here. I can only really cook breakfast foods - eggs, toast, sausages, bacon and I can’t forget the trusty cereal.” He snorted at her. “Right, take your pick,” she said, handing him a fork and showing him the two steaming dishes he had to choose from.

He chose the cottage pie which left her with the lasagne and they both crossed to the living room, taking their seats and making a start on their food.

“I feel sorry for Seth right now,” Paul commented.

“Why?”

“You haven’t seen the cafeteria food,” he grimaced. She laughed at him. “I’m being serious, surely you know from experience.”

“Nope,” she popped the ‘p’. “The food at Hogwarts was _always_ amazing. There was a feast every night with six dishes to choose from and there was always dessert. Though we did have a welcoming feast in September, a Halloween feast, a Christmas feast _and_ a leaving feast, too.”

“How could there possibly be that much food prepared and for so many people?”

“House-elves,” she shrugged. “They’re small beings that have their own magic. They live to serve families and households; they control the cooking, cleaning, laundry, gardening, serving and anything else you can think of, including being nannies. It’s mostly wealthy Pureblood families that have them, since they’re too lazy to get off their own arses and wash the dishes themselves. Hogwarts has the highest population of house-elves in Europe, totalling over three hundred, I believe. They work in the kitchens, clean the castle as well as students and professors’ dorms and common rooms, they do students’ and staff members’ laundry, keep the fires running and sometimes they collect potion ingredients from the Forbidden Forest.”

“They’re slaves,” he surmised with a scowl, being surprised by the smile and side hug she gave him.

“I’m glad to see I’m not the only one that can see it for what it is. House-elves don’t have rights and I went on this crusade my fourth year to free all house-elves from slavery. But at the time I didn’t understand that house-elves need to serve in order to live, if they don’t have a bond with a family, company or household, they die. But that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to get a decent wage or time off, and they definitely shouldn’t be subjected to abuse. Some house-elves are abused by their owners and families, and most tend to self-harm when they believe they need to be punished and that needs to stop. I’ve come to terms that they live to serve, that it makes them happy, but they shouldn’t have to do it in the conditions they do. Werewolves are now being given basic human rights, house-elves are next on the agenda.”

“What were you reading before you fell asleep?” He asked her, changing the subject.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” she grimaced and he seemed to agree with her. “Before I forget, if you give me your clothes, I can try and get the blood out. I can patch up the tear no problem but it’ll likely take me longer to remove the bloodstain, especially since it covers most of your0 shirt.”

“It’d be easier to throw it in the trash,” he shrugged.

“Seth mentioned that when you phase, your clothes tear,” she mused and he nodded, wondering what point she was trying to make. “You know, I’m sure I’ve seen a spell mentioned somewhere that I can use. It’ll protect your clothes, no longer tearing them and you won’t have to keep replacing them. Seth said it’s costing a fortune to continue replacing them. I’ll have to check through some of my spell books, in the meantime, as I said before, I have more than enough men’s clothing here if you need any and they all still have the tags on.”

Silence fell upon them as they focused their attention on consuming their food, but Hermione soon broke it, not being able to stay quiet for much longer.

“Seth mentioned something.”

“What did he say?” He asked her warily, noting that she was biting her lip nervously.

“Well, he told me that you’re the most volatile member of the pack, that you have trouble controlling your anger.” He stiffened and she felt the couch beginning to shake. “Please don’t be mad, the only reason I brought it up is that I think I have something that may be able to help you.”

He turned his eyes to her and she quickly rushed out of the room, only to return with a vial of pink liquid and she handed it to him.

“Place a drop on your tongue,” she instructed and he eyed her as he did so, and much to his amazement, his anger suddenly faded and his shaking as a sign of a pending phase, stopped. Just like that.

“What was that?”

“A Calming Draught,” she took a seat beside him. “I can’t imagine your life being easy, you haven’t been a shifter for long and you had to learn how to control your abilities quickly. Not to mention the existence of vampires was suddenly thrust upon you and it’s your duty to protect your Tribe. It can’t be easy for any of you, having to patrol at night, having to miss school after your transformation, having to risk your life, having people being suspicious of your behaviour. I thought I’d make your life a little easier. So you can keep it.” She closed his fingers around the vial and pushed it back to him after he’d tried to hand it to her. “Whenever you feel anxious or angry, a drop on your tongue will help to calm you, the angrier you feel and the closer you are to phasing, the more drops you will need, but never go over five drops in one go, the effects are _not_ pretty,” she shivered. “I don’t know how often you struggle with your anger, so I don’t know how quickly you’ll go through the vial, but when you do, let me know and I’ll brew you another one. I’ll come up with a solution to somehow infuse the potion into an object that won’t be suspicious, that way you won’t have to take the Calming Draught in public. It may be difficult but if I owl the twins, they should be able to help me.”

“Why are you doing this?” His brow furrowed, puzzled by her kindness.

She sighed. “As I said, Paul, your life isn’t easy and I know what it’s like to have to live a difficult life, to have a secret that you must keep. If I can help to alleviate any stress and make your life easier, then I will.” She patted his hand. “Besides, you’re my friend, I’d do anything for my friends. Get used to it, you’re under my protection now. Ask anyone that knows me, it’s both a blessing and a curse.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 5

**Friday 9th June 2006**

Later that evening, after Hermione had made sure that Seth and Paul were both fed and that Paul's wound had healed nicely, they left the tent to meet with the rest of the pack, now understanding what it was they were doing since Seth had explained the whole situation to her regarding the coven of vampires and the newborns which would soon be arriving. Hermione had fussed over him for close to an hour before letting him leave, much to the amusement of Paul, well, until she sent a terrifying glare his way and then she proceeded to fuss over him, too.

Hermione didn't like the idea of someone being able to read your thoughts without having to make eye contact, without someone having to touch you, or without someone having to use magic. And she sure as hell didn't like the idea of the vampires having an advantage over the pack if something were to go wrong.

For that reason, she'd decided to create something that would protect their thoughts from outside influences and she knew it was going to be a difficult and challenging project. She also liked the idea of having a way to contact Seth if she needed to, and him vice versa, not to mention, a way to infuse her magic into an object that may just offer him a little more protection when he was up against a vampire. She'd already been working on something similar and she was close to perfecting the spell she needed, but she had to figure out how to effectively infuse an Occlumency shield into an object, something that wouldn't easily break or be suspicious. Possibly a watch or bracelet, but she knew she would have to somehow find a way of keeping the object on him when he phased.

She pulled her notes from her previous projects and summoned several books she thought could be useful, covering the coffee table until the surface could no longer be seen and then she made herself comfortable on the floor with a cup of tea in hand as she began a new project.

~000~000~000~

Hermione was interrupted with her research when a silver-blue jaguar entered the tent and it was one she didn't recognise.

"Miss. Granger, I apologise for the late hour of this message. I am Auror Fosters and I was tasked by Minister Shacklebolt to aid in the investigation into your friend's attack. I'm informing you that I believe I have found the men responsible. They are currently being detained in the local police station, and although I have evidence to suggest I have the correct suspects, I would like for your friend to identify them. Please respond when this will be possible, I await your answer."

The Patronus faded into nothing and Hermione stared at the spot it had previously occupied in surprise; she couldn't believe they'd been captured already. She'd hoped they would've been caught in a few days, but realistically she knew the chances of that happening were slim, so to hear that they had been caught and detained, with evidence proving it was them, in less than twenty-four hours, well, she was speechless.

She looked to the clock seeing that she'd been working on her research for close to two hours and she didn't know how much longer the pack would take with doing their responsibilities which would be followed by patrols.

Hermione picked up some parchment and wrote out her reply, saying she would be there within the hour. She thanked Merlin that Crystal had arrived earlier in the evening with a letter from the twins and she was currently perched on one of the bookcases. Hermione walked over to Crystal and asked her to deliver the letter to Auror Foster, and she did with an affectionate nip to Hermione's finger, leaving out of the tent and flying into the night.

Hermione slipped her boots on and grabbed an over-sized jumper and with a Warming Charm placed on herself, she apparated to where she knew the pack would be, the clearing in which she had run into them when Greyback had attacked her.

~000~000~000~

Hermione landed with a sharp 'crack' close to the wolves and each of their heads snapped towards her, their eyes widening. She couldn't hear or see any vampires nearby which meant they had either left already or they had yet to arrive.

 _'Hermione?'_ Seth thought, puzzled

 _'What's she doing here?'_ Sam asked him.

"Sorry for intruding, but I was hoping I could borrow Paul for half an hour," she spoke, looking sheepish and she smiled when the pups found their way over to her and sat on either side of her, wanting their heads to be scratched. She saw the other wolves' forms shaking, and she suspected it to be from silent laughter at the pups' behaviour.

"I need his help with something I'm working on," she explained, "I'll bring him back in one piece, don't worry."

 _'Why would she need help from Paul and not you?'_ Jacob asked him, his voice curious and confused.

 _'Can I go?'_ Paul asked Sam, knowing that whatever Hermione wanted it was important, otherwise she wouldn't have come, especially at the current time of night.

Sam nodded in his direction and Paul disappeared behind a tree, returning in his human form and clothed. Hermione smiled at him and gave him the same instructions she had once given Seth, taking his arm and waving goodbye to the others, she disappeared from view with a 'crack.'

 _'What was all that about?'_ Sam asked Seth.

 _'I don't know,'_ he responded.

_'You're lying.'_

Seth sighed. _'Paul's not helping Hermione, rather she's helping him.'_

 _'Does this have anything to do with why he wasn't at school today?'_ Jared asked Seth.

 _'He had food poisoning,'_ Seth lied, sticking to the cover story and making sure to fill his every thought with Hermione in order to stop the rest of the pack from seeing what Hermione had spoken to him about.

They all snorted. _'No, he didn't, we can't get food poisoning,'_ Quil pointed out.

Seth huffed. _'Fine, yes, it has something to do with why he wasn't at school, but I'm not going to tell you the reason behind it. Hermione made me promise to keep it a secret as she's gained Paul's trust and she doesn't want to lose. And we all know that if Paul wanted us to know about it, he'd tell us.'_

~000~000~000~

"Fuck!" He cursed, bending over with his hands braced against his knees and taking deep breaths. Hermione chuckled at him, waiting for him to get his roiling stomach under control. "That's awful."

"After a few times you don't feel the effects anymore," she shrugged and he rose to full height, leaning against a tree and looking down at her.

"What do you need my help with?" He arched an eyebrow.

She looked about, ensuring there was no one around before stepping out of the small cluster of trees and coming to stop at the car park of a police station.

"Why're we here?" He asked, eyeing her warily.

She didn't answer, just took his wrist in her small hand and dragged him towards the building and through the doors. She made her way to the front desk but was stopped when someone stepped in front of her and she looked up at him.

He stood at six-foot with bright green eyes and dark blonde hair touching the tips of his ears. He had pale skin and angular features, reminding her of many a Pureblood and he wore what she would describe as an 'FBI suit.'

"Miss. Granger?" He questioned, though she knew who he was the minute he said her name, he was looking at her in awe and as if he wanted to ask for her autograph.

"Yes," she said politely.

"I'm Agent Foster, thank you for coming on such short notice," he held his out to her and she shook it.

"Thank you for being so efficient and getting the job done so quickly; I had assumed it would take at least a couple of days."

He beamed at the compliment.

"Thank you, Miss. Granger. However, I can't take all the credit. It was a fairly simple case; the evidence led me straight to them, you would think they would be smart enough to ditch the weapon."

"They kept it?" She said in disbelief. He nodded. "Idiots," she rolled her eyes. "Agent Foster, this is my friend Paul," she introduced and Paul shook his hand, though he looked wary about it.

"Hermione, what're we doing here?" He turned to her with a frown.

She smiled at him. "I told you I would not allow those that hurt you to run free and escape the consequences or worse, justice. I don't care what you say, they're too dangerous to be left walking the streets, and it may happen again and I won't risk that. This lovely gentleman, here," she saw from the corner of her eye the way Auror Foster stood taller and puffed out his chest, "Has done a wonderful job in tracking down those that harmed you and in record time, too. He has all the evidence he needs for them to be charged, but your confirmation on their identities would go a long way. Don't worry, this will be kept out of the papers and news, we'll be discreet about it, no one will know."

Paul had stiffened and she could see him visibly taking deep breaths, and then he nodded, somehow knowing Hermione wasn't going to let him leave until he identified his attackers. They were led through the station and they stopped when they reached a door, Hermione standing against the opposite wall.

"Aren't you coming in?" Paul asked her.

"No, I don't think it's a good idea that I be present," she replied calmly, _too_ calmly. Paul eyed her strangely before nodded and stepping into the room, the door closing behind him.

He'd been in there barely ten minutes when the door opened and he stepped out, a blank expression on his face.

"All done?" She checked, pushing away from the wall. He nodded. She turned to Auror Foster. "Thank you for your help."

"Not a problem, Miss. Granger, it was an honour to be able to help and meet you, speaking of, would mind if I asked for your autograph?"

"I would, but I don't have any..." She was interrupted when she suddenly found some parchment and a self-inking quill being held out for her.

She blinked before chuckling and taking it from him, resting against the wall she wrote a quick note and signed her name at the bottom, handing it back to the beaming wizard.

Hermione left the police station with Paul following behind her and he asked her to drop him off at her tent and he would run the rest of the way, explaining that they wanted to keep Hermione a secret from the vampires and they would likely be at the clearing by now. She smiled and did as he asked, heading inside the tent and clearing away her research before heading to the bathroom, showering and climbing into bed, falling asleep.

~000~000~000~

It was the early hours of the morning when Paul and Seth had finished their patrols after dealing with the Cullens and they were heading to the checkpoint to meet with Embry and Quil, who would be taking over.

 _'What did you expect, Paul?'_ Seth asked. _'You knew she wasn't going to let it lie.'_

 _'I didn't think she'd have them arrested and thrown in jail. I don't even know_ how _she managed it; I didn't tell her anything that would allow her to identify them, let alone_ find _them.'_

Seth sighed. _'Paul, you didn't see her last night, she was terrified for you and so very angry. I think we're lucky that she didn't take matters into her own hands and that she left it up to the justice system, even if she did push it to go in that direction. From what I've learned so far, she's a kind-hearted person, but she can also be very vengeful when someone she cares for is wronged, and she does care for you.'_

They stopped at the checkpoint, waiting for the others to arrive and they phased back into their human forms, pulling on their shoes and jeans.

Paul's forehead crinkled.

"Paul, we all know about your dad..." Paul flinched and he felt himself grip his jean pocket where the Calming Draught Hermione had given him was hidden. "And you know how we feel, you say the word and any one of us would take care of it. Out of respect for you, we haven't done anything. But Hermione's different. Unless you want your dad to suffer, don't ever tell Hermione about him. I don't think he'd survive what she'd have planned for him," he warned him and when they heard the others approaching they went their separate ways, Seth heading to Hermione's tent.

Just as he reached the entrance Hermione's screams started and he cursed himself for being away for so long. He rushed to Hermione's room, kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed beside her. The moment she was in his arms, her screams quieted to cries, followed by sniffles and then she fell silent. The fear and pain disappeared from her face, being replaced by a peaceful smile. He sighed and placed a kiss to her forehead before allowing himself to fall asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 10

**Thursday 15th June 2006**

Seth had driven himself, Paul and Jared home from school as Hermione had informed him that she had to visit England that day, she didn't say why, just that she was needed. He was a little upset with the news but he knew she would be back later in the day and after dropping Paul and Jared off, he drove the car to the hiding spot Hermione had made for the car, grabbed his backpack and made his way through the woods and to Hermione's tent.

When he entered he noticed that the place was quiet and he knew Hermione wasn't back yet. He sat on the armchair, pulling the coffee table closer and decided to make a start on the homework that was due the next day, of which, he hadn't yet started and if Hermione found out, she'd kill him.

He took a break an hour later when his stomach grumbled and he rummaged through the kitchen cupboards, finding some bread, ham and cheese and he made himself a simple sandwich before continuing with his homework. By the time he'd finished and looked up at the clock, he saw it was six o'clock in the evening and he frowned; he knew from Hermione that England was seven hours ahead and going by the time, she should've been back long before now.

He stood and walked through the tent and when he reached her bedroom, he saw a letter sitting on her bed. He knew he shouldn't read it, but his curiosity got the better of him and he picked it up.

_'Mione, please come back, I'm sorry for what happened and I promise to never hurt you again. I love you, you know that, Lavender means nothing to me, she was just something to keep me busy whilst you were at school. We can still be together and after the baby's born and this mess with Lav's sorted out, we can get married like we talked about._

_Please come back to me, I miss you._

_Ron._

Seth crumpled the letter in his hand and a growl left him. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was dated for a few days ago, and he also noticed that there was a second part to the letter behind the first, so he read that, too.

_Hermione, Dear,_

_Stop this nonsense and come home at once. I've already started planning the wedding and I refuse to halt preparations because you and Ronald have had a silly little argument. You have a duty as a soon to be wife and mother to come back and be with your husband. I need to prepare you for your future of motherhood. And you can get rid of the silly notion that you'll have a career. You won't have time whilst raising my Grandbabies and I expect my first from you, no later than a year after your wedding._

_Speaking of weddings, we still have to decide on the flowers and the guest list. Of course, we'll hold the wedding and reception here, at the Burrow, and I'll make sure all of Ronald's favourite foods are included in the catering. I've already chosen your dress for you, and I know you'll love it. And without a doubt the colour scheme will be red and gold, the colours suit Ronald so well._

_Stop being silly and come back._

_Your mother-in-law, Molly._

Fury swept through Seth. Is that what she'd been dealing with? Letters from these people, one that had cheated on her and was stupid enough to try and ask for her to forgive him and take him back, and the other that was planning a wedding that wasn't going to happen, calling his Hermione stupid for leaving after a _silly little argument._

He felt himself shaking and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop the pending phase, not with Hermione not being present.

As quickly as he could, he stripped off his t-shirt, jean shorts and shoes and he phased before he did so out of anger. He now knew that Hermione had returned and she was likely hiding out somewhere. He gripped his clothing in his mouth and left the tent, relying on his sense of smell to pick up her scent and his hearing to pick up her voice.

~000~000~000~

He found her but it had taken him close to an hour to do so. He'd scoped out the woods and he'd caught a trace of her scent and he followed it. It grew stronger as he neared First Beach but he saw several teenagers sat around a fire and he had to stay hidden in the trees as to not be spotted. He searched the beach but she wasn't there, yet her scent had led him there, and as his frustration built and he felt himself growing concerned, his eyes caught sight of the cliffs and a new sense of hope filled him.

He's rushed towards the cliffs, taking ten minutes to reach the top and when he did, he released a huge sigh of relief when he saw Hermione. She was sat facing the edge of the cliff, staring out at the sky; watching as the sun was slowly beginning to set, the orange, red and yellow reflecting on the sea below.

He phased back and slipped on his clothes, walking out of the cover of the trees and sitting beside her. She didn't speak but he noted that she shuffled closer to him, leaning against him.

"What happened?" He asked, knowing that the only reason she would be out there was if something had upset her.

"Ronald," she answered, her voice barely a whisper and if he didn't have sensitive hearing, he knew he wouldn't have been able to hear it at all.

"What did he do?" His words came out around low growls and she slowly pulled her eyes from the sky and looked up at him.

He felt his heart shatter. Her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks stained with dried tears and the corner of her lip bleeding from where she'd gnawed at it. Her hair was frizzier than usual, due to the humidity up on the cliffs or from her running her hands through it, he didn't know. Her eyes began to water again and he lifted his hand to her cheek and gently stroked her cheekbone with his thumb as she leaned into his touch.

"Ginny graduated today," she spoke softly but with her mouth turning up into a small smile and a bit of pride in her voice. "That's why I went to England, so I could go to her graduation ceremony. It was a surprise, I told her I couldn't make it as I was busy and you should've seen the look on her face when she saw me in the crowd. Everything was fine and everyone was getting along, we're all so proud of her. Harry told me that Ron had to work so he wouldn't be at the graduation ceremony or the party, so I put my troubles with Mrs. Weasley aside and I went to the Burrow. Charlie had come home from Romania, I got to see Fleur who's now beginning to show with her pregnancy, I saw Bill and Percy, the twins all but suffocated me and stuck to me like glue for the rest of the party, whilst I ignored Mrs. Weasley's obvious comments and avoided her the best I could. We were all having fun and laughing and reminiscing about our younger years at school and then Ron turns up, only he's not alone, he's too busy with his tongue down _Lav-Lav's_ throat to notice anyone."

"The cheating weasel forgot it was his own sister's graduation. When he noticed I was there, he proceeded to explain to me how I was being stupid and that he loved me, but I just couldn't stop staring at Lavender, she's at least four months pregnant now and it's easy to see with the scraps of clothing she wears." His anger slowly built. "When I told him where to shove his apologies and his ring, that's when the true Ronald came out, the side that's so cruel and hateful, he not only shocked me but the others, too. He called me names, he blamed me, he said it was my fault he cheated because I chose my education over him. It was my fault that I wasn't the same as I was before the war. Now I'm boring and depressing. Of course, his mother couldn't help jumping on the bandwagon and I couldn't take it anymore and I left before everything kicked off. And I know it did, I could hear Ginny screaming and things being smashed as I apparated out of there."

"I'm going to kill him," he growled lowly and she smiled at him sadly.

"You'll have to get in line, Harry and the twins are fighting over who gets to deal the first blow. Of course, they're also up against a Dragon Tamer and partial werewolf."

He stared at her in surprise before a snort fell from him.

"He's not worth it, Hermione. He's not good enough for you and he doesn't deserve your friendship nor your love. Hell, even _I_ don't deserve you; you're too kind, too understanding, too loving for anyone to ever deserve you. I'm just glad that for some reason, I was chosen, I was gifted you and I don't know what I did to deserve you."

Her watery eyes shined as she fought back the tears.

"Did you see the letters?" She asked him and the way his nose flared gave her the answer. "Would you force me to be a housewife?"

"No, there's too much for you to do in the world, there's too many people that can benefit from you helping them."

"Would you force me to have a brood of children?"

"No, I wouldn't force you to do anything you didn't want to do or didn't want to happen."

"What if I don't want to have children or to get married?"

"Then I'll respect your decision, I just want you to be happy."

"And what if I'm unable to have children?"

He tipped his head slightly, her line of questioning confusing him but he knew it was important to her, so he made it a point to answer as honestly as he could.

"Then we'd talk about it and if you wanted children, we could always adopt or foster. Whether you want children or not, to marry or not, to work or not, I will support you and I will always be there for you, whether you want me to or not. _You_ are my life. You're stuck with me."

Seth did not expect for Hermione to throw herself against him with such a force that he fell backwards, landing on the ground. Nor did he expect for Hermione to follow him, straddle him and latch herself onto his mouth.

It was fair to say Seth was more than surprised but he was a hormonal teenage boy and having his beautiful imprint on top of him, currently making him feel dizzy with her demanding kisses and tugging at his hair, he couldn't stop it and all blood was beginning to head south. He felt embarrassment begin to surface but that was soon knocked away when Hermione unexpectedly moaned into his mouth and started to move her hips over him. He growled lowly in the back of his throat and it seemed to encourage Hermione further, wiggling her hips in circles and moving faster.

His hands gripped at her hips and he gasped for air when she pulled back from him, her mouth moving across his cheek, nibbling at his jaw, sucking at his neck, biting gently down onto his shoulder, which caused him to buck his hips into her and she whimpered in response, doubling her attack on his skin. He felt her hands move away from his hair and they slipped under his t-shirt, her fingers lightly trailing over his skin, sending his already hot body temperature skyrocketing. A wolf-like growl rumbled in his chest when she scratched her nails over his abdomen, his grip on her tightening and his hips lifted off the ground, pulling a moan of approval from her.

His already rapidly beating heart rate sped up as he felt Hermione's hand shift to his jeans and she deftly unfastened the button and zip, slipping her hand into his boxers and gripping what she could of his length.

" _Fuck_!" He muttered against her lips as they found their way back to his, her tongue taking full advantage and slipping into his mouth to dance with his as her hand moved over him. She knew what she was doing, Seth realised.

She shifted over him, pulling his jeans and boxers down slightly with a little help from him, so his member was released from its confinement and she didn't stop kissing him as she worked her hand over him, being rather glad that she'd chosen to wear a dress to Ginny's graduation party when she'd originally planned on jeans.

She could feel her insides squirming and clenching, her body aching, needing to find release and she shifted over him, moved her knickers to the side and guided him to her entrance. She moaned when he touched against her, meanwhile, Seth's breathing was heavy and laboured and he grunted and growled as he felt her heat, her wetness, her arousal brush him ever so slightly.

He couldn't believe it was going to happen. He couldn't believe she was going to...

And she did.

She pulled her mouth from his and buried her face against his neck as she slowly sank down onto him, whimpering pained-pleasure as he stretched and filled her to the point she thought he was going to split her in half. Of course, having only been with Ron, and Seth being bigger than she was used to, her walls automatically clenched around him, squeezing tightly and her nails dug into his biceps.

Seth clenched his jaw and his eyes screwed shut as he was sheathed inside her tightly, surrounded by warm, wet silk and he groaned as gripped her hips when he felt her clench around him. Intentional or not, he didn't know.

She was muttering against his skin, curse words and obscenities, much to his surprise, some of them he briefly noted were a different language.

She'd done it.

She'd taken his virginity.

She knew it wasn't going to take long to push her over the edge, she could already feel her orgasm looming just from him simply being inside of her, stretching and filling her in ways she never thought possible. When the stinging she felt numbed slightly, she started moving over him, rocking her hips against him. Her mouth latched onto his once more, catching and claiming the noises she was able to pull from him and him vice versa.

Seth let instinct take over, starting to move his own hips and thrusting into her, and judging by the whimpers and moans and the way her nails dug into him, he suspected he was doing something right. When he planted his feet on the floor for better leverage and thrust up into her, she cursed loudly against his mouth.

She fisted his t-shirt in her hands and sat up, dragging him up with her, her arms winding around his neck and her hands went into his hair. He moved his hands from her hips and they slipped around her back, pulling her into him with every movement of their hips. She pulled back from his mouth, her lips parted and her breathing coming out in pants. Her eyes were dark and half-lidded and her face had flushed pink, the colour disappearing beneath her dress. Her eyes locked on his and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop himself, he stiffened beneath her and his arms locked around her tighter, to the point where it was difficult for her to breath.

She saw his reaction and felt him twitching inside of her and she latched her mouth onto his, capturing his low rumble of a growl in the back of her throat. Feeling him come undone inside of her brought her to her own release and she moaned into his mouth, tugging at his hair before slumping against him tiredly and kissing him languidly.

~000~000~000~

"Have you found him?" Sam asked as Embry and Quil made their way back over to them.

Seth hadn't turned up to the pack meeting they were going to have before heading to the clearing to watch the Cullens prepare for the arrival of an army of newborns. It wasn't like Seth to not turn up, it wasn't like any of them unless they had permission from Sam to not attend. As a result, several of them had gone looking for him whilst the others waited in the woods for them to return.

"He wasn't at home," Embry said, "Sue said she hasn't seen him since this morning."

They turned to Quil expectantly. "He wasn't at Hermione's either, the place was empty, though his stuff was still there."

They all frowned at the news.

"Has anyone thought to check the beach?" Sam asked.

"Jared's checking the beach now and Paul said he'd check to see if Hermione's car is where she usually hides it," Quil confirmed.

Barely minutes later, Jared arrived and they looked to him for answers. "No Seth, just a few kids at the beach and I ran into Paul, he checked her car, it's still there. He wanted to check the cliffs, he said something about catching Hermione's scent."

Just as he finished speaking, Paul stepped out from behind the trees and approached them, an amused look on his face.

"Well?" Sam snapped, annoyed by his lack of speech.

"I found him."

"Well, where is he? Why didn't you bring him back with you?"

"He's on the cliffs, Hermione's tutoring him," he said, a smirk pulling at his mouth.

"What the hell d'you mean she's _tutoring_ him, surely it could wait?"

"She's giving him a biology lesson," he said, and something in his tone of voice and the look on his face must've given his meaning away, as one by one, each member of the pack looked at each other and a smirk of their own appeared. Leah made a sound of disgust and covered her ears whilst Collin and Brady looked to the others bemused.

"Are you sure?" Jared asked amused.

"It wasn't exactly difficult to determine what they were doing," he replied, shrugging his shoulders and slipping his hands into his pockets. "I'm not sure what I noticed first, to be honest, the smell, the noises or the movements."

Sam's annoyance seemed to slowly fade before a bark of laughter left him and he gave his head a shake.

"Good on him," Sam nodded, the others sniggered and Leah glared in his direction. "Well, Seth's otherwise engaged, let's get this meeting started."

~000~000~000~

Hermione pulled her mouth from his and rested her forehead against his, her breathing heavy but a lot calmer than before.

"Sorry I jumped you," she breathed softly, "Not that I regret it," she added.

"I imagine that for a first time it was pretty amazing, and I don't regret it either," he replied.

She sprang back from him, her eyes wide.

"What did you just say?"

He frowned in confusion. "For a first time it was pretty amazing?" He questioned, his head tilting slightly.

Her mouth dropped open and a horrified look crossed her face.

"You were a virgin?" She whispered. He nodded, not understanding why she was so horrified by what he'd just revealed. "Godric!" She whispered before quickly climbing off him, wincing when he slipped out of her and then she stood and started pacing.

He shuddered as the cold air hit him and he tucked himself back into his jeans, standing to his feet and watching her as she paced. She was muttering to herself, but he couldn't understand what she was saying as it sounded like an entirely different language.

"Oh Merlin, I can't believe I just jumped you, I can't believe I did that," she thought aloud, halting in her pacing to look at him before continuing with the back and forth movement once more. "You're underage, I could be arrested for having sex with a minor! Oh no, what have I done?!"

"Hermione," he spoke calmly, drawing her attention. "The legal age for consent here is sixteen, you won't be arrested," he informed her.

"That's not the point, Seth! How could you let me do that to you, especially _here_?" She gestured around wildly with her hands. "Why didn't you stop me? God! I took advantage of you! Merlin, I'm a bad person."

"You didn't take advantage of me. If I didn't want it to happen I would've asked you to stop, but I did want it and I don't regret it. Do you?" He asked her and she stopped to look at him, hearing the rejection in his voice.

"No, I don't regret it," she sighed. "I'm just mad at myself. I can't believe that I did that to you, especially here, I feel so guilty." She ran a hand through her hair and made a sound of frustration.

He approached her, taking her face in his hands he kissed her softly, a sigh falling from her lips.

" _Your_ first time, _our_ first time, it shouldn't have been here."

He knew she was upset with herself but before he could speak, she'd had removed her wand from her robe pocket and she took his hand, spinning on her heel.

~000~000~000~

She landed close to the tent and after giving Seth a moment to recover, she took his hand and pulled him inside, heading straight to her bedroom. He watched her as she kicked off her blue flats that matched the blue summer dress she wore and she placed her wand on the bedside table before removing her robes, revealing her dress to be spaghetti-strapped.

She turned around and he felt his heart rate increase as she walked towards him, her hands coming up to rest against his clothed chest, her eyes soft and wide, staring up at him.

"I'm sorry it happened that way, and if you'd like to, we'll do it properly this time."

He didn't need to be asked twice and his head nodded like a bobble-head doll. Her eyes fluttered closed and she reached up to kiss him. His arms moved around her back, pulling her into him as she ran her tongue over the seam of his lips and he parted his lips for her, allowing her entrance. She kissed him leisurely, taking her time to coax him into a calmer state.

She could feel both the excitement and nervousness rolling off him, whereas before she'd taken him by surprise and he hadn't had the time to feel nervous, but now she was doing it right, how it should've been done in the first place.

Her hands fell to the edge of his t-shirt and she gripped it, pulling back to pull it up and over his head, dropping it to the floor and she went back to kissing him whilst trailing her fingertips over the thick muscle and blazingly hot skin that was now available to her. She pushed him back, gently guiding him to the bed, and he sat down, kicking off his shoes before shuffling back until his back hit the headboard and she climbed on after him, moving to straddle him

Her attention returned to his mouth whilst her hands and soft touch explored his back and shoulders and she memorised every muscle, ridge and piece of skin.

Hermione had placed a glamour over her dress in order to hide the scar that was given to her by Dolohov, she found it much easy to glamour clothing to hide her scar, than glamouring the scar itself, but much couldn't be done for her Mudblood scar. She often covered it with long sleeves and when she couldn't, like today, she covered it with muggle makeup and using charms to keep it in place for twenty-four hours unless she removed it beforehand.

She took Seth's hands in hers and brought them away from her back and to her shoulder straps, pushing them down and off her shoulders, before moving them to her legs and letting go.

Seth took the invitation and trailed his hands over her thighs, feeling goosebumps erupt over her soft skin under his touch. He took his mouth from hers and experimentally moved his lips across her cheek and down to her neck, mimicking what she'd done to him previously. He placed butterfly kisses along her throat and tried nibbling at shoulder, which earned him a soft moan and Hermione tilting her head to give him better access. Her response gave him some confidence and he continued, moving lower to her collar bones, where she sighed and ran her hands through his hair, tugging lightly.

Of their own accord, his hands moved from the soft skin of her thighs and up to her hips, sliding up her waist and he hesitated when he reached her breasts. She leaned closer and nibbled at his earlobe in approval and a groan left him, before he experimentally cupped her breasts in his hands, over the fabric of her dress and bra.

She reached behind her to do undo the zip of her dress, moving her hands to Seth's to pull them away from her breasts and to the edge of her dress and she pulled away from him to look at him. His eyes had darkened to almost black, she could see the flush in cheeks though it was difficult to spot with his russet tone but she was more than close enough to see. His hair was a mess from her running her hands through it and his breathing was heavy and laboured.

"Don't freak out," she said quietly with a husky tone to her voice.

"Why would I freak out?" He asked confused, his own voice a little deeper than usual.

In response she smiled at him sadly and then gestured for him to remove her dress. He pulled it up and over her head, his eyes glued to her stomach as it was revealed and then to her breasts, snugly held in blue lace. Her dress cleared her head and she took it from him and dropped it to the ground, leaving her in only her matching knickers and bra set.

"Well?" She questioned.

He had an awed expression on his face and he begrudgingly tore his gaze away from her breasts, even as they rose and fell with every breath she took. He looked confused at her question and she reached for his hand and pressed it below her right shoulder and he felt a raised mark there. His eyes snapped to it and he was glued to his hand as she dragged it down her body and over the mark. Starting below her right shoulder, going slightly over the top of her right breast, through the valley of her breasts, snaking under her left breast and then ending at her left hip.

He could see it now, it was raised and thick and still slightly pink, as though it were recently new. He remembered seeing it through her clothing that day at the beach.

"What happened?"

"This happened to me my fifth year. This is a result of my duel with Dolohov in the Department of Mysteries. That night he almost killed me and I have this to show for the fact I survived."

His nostrils flared in anger at the thought of anyone hurting her.

"I'll kill him," he growled out, unable to stop himself as he traced her scar of his own accord, noticing that she shivered under his touch.

"He's dead," she promised. "I was there when it happened, one of my spells collided with one of my opponents and it ricocheted, it hit Dolohov and he died instantly."

That news made him feel better.

"Why does it still look recent?"

"It was caused by dark magic, a kind of spell no one's ever seen before, meaning Dolohov _created_ it himself. This happened to me close to four years ago, I will always have it and since it's dark magic induced, it flares up from time to time, different things can set it off."

"Like?"

"A certain potion ingredient if it makes contact with my skin, almost like an allergy, a certain fabric, such as flannel because it irritates it, it's why I tend to wear soft materials to bed such as silk and satin, it's because it's cool against my skin. Sometimes my nightmares can set it off, it's just another aspect to my MPTSD," she shrugged.

They fell quiet, her watching him as he simply focused on trailing her scar softly, being careful not to hurt her.

"Do you still think I'm beautiful?" She asked him quietly.

His eyes shot up to her in surprise at the question.

"You're more than beautiful, you're stunning, dazzling, gorgeous, I'll buy a thesaurus so I can have more words to describe you," he replied, his hand coming to her cheek.

She giggled at him and he smiled at the sound.

"You're too good for me," she whispered.

"No, _you're_ too good for _me_ ," he spoke with sincerity and it made her heart melt at the way he lovingly looked at her.

She leaned forward and claimed his lips and Hermione proceeded to show him what their first time together should've been like.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 9

**Monday 19th June 2006**

Seth looked up along with the other students as there was a knock and the door opened, revealing a TA. She entered the classroom, heading straight to the desk of his English teacher, Mr. Brown. A note was handed over before she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Clearwater," Brown looked up from the note, his eyes looking at Seth. "Collect your belongings, you have been asked to meet your cousin in the parking lot."

Seth shared a confused look with Jacob, Quil and Embry, all of who he shared his English class with before he slipped everything into his backpack and stood, walking over to the desk to take the note from Brown, which he had signed.

"Your final essay is due on Wednesday," he reminded him and then Seth walked out of the classroom, sharing one last confused look with his other packmates.

As Seth made his way through the empty halls which would soon be crowded with students heading to lunch, he pondered what the sender of the note intended. As far as he was aware, there was no reason to meet any cousin of his in the parking lot, particularly during school hours, and his mother hadn't mentioned anything relating to it that morning when he and Hermione had picked Jared and Paul up from his house.

He stepped out of the doors, it was a rare cloudless day and the hot sun was blaring down on him, not that he noticed with his temperature always being higher than normal. The was a slight breeze in the air, tingling against his skin and birds were singing and chirping as they perched in surrounding trees and flew high in the sky.

His eyes searched the parking lot, trying to understand why he was there. His hearing picked up on it before his eyes did, he could hear muttering and mumbles, though he couldn't understand what was being said as it was in a foreign language. He heard the telltale sign of someone pacing, their feet dragging across the pavement as they walked back and forth.

His eyes landed on the familiar car of Hermione's and through the windows, he could see her pacing and he quickly walked over to her. Was something wrong? Was that why she'd faked a note to pull him out of school? Was she hurt? Was she in trouble?

"Hermione?" He called and the moment he stepped behind her she spun on her heel, turning to face him.

He gulped at what he saw. She wore a white spaghetti strap sundress that fell to her mid-thigh with white pumps on her feet. Her hair tumbled down her back in wild, soft curls, the sun shining on her mahogany hair and ivory skin, making them both glow. God, she was beautiful, but she always was. She was injury-free and he felt himself relax at that. What had made him gulp was the look she wore in her eyes. Her eyes, usually soft and kind, were now dark and they held a look of hunger, desperation and pure, undiluted lust. Her eyes locked onto his as she held her clenched hands tightly by her sides, as she bounced on the balls of her feet, as she looked to be restraining herself from doing something, though he wasn't sure what.

"Is everything alright?" He asked her.

Before he could blink, she'd launched herself at him, her small frame slamming his much larger and certainly much stronger one into the car behind him. His backpack fell to the ground forgotten as Hermione pulled his head down, threaded her fingers into his hair and crashed her mouth to his.

Seth gave an odd combination of a startled sound and a groan, as her teeth nipped at his bottom lip, soothing the sting with her tongue and dipping her tongue into his parted lips to meet with his own. His hands gripped at her hips, and if it was possible, he would've pulled her closer to him, as it was, it was already like she was trying to meld herself to him.

Her hands left his hair and slipped down his chest and even through his t-shirt her touch sent shivers down him and he could hear her fumbling with something behind him until he heard the 'click' of the car door opening. She pulled away from him, her breathing fast and heavy, matching his. She gripped his t-shirt, pulled him forward enough that she could open the door fully and with a strength he didn't know she possessed, she pushed him backwards until he found himself landing on his back in the back seat of her car. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, dazedly watching her as she clambered in after him, slamming the door shut and once more launching herself at him.

She pushed him onto his back and quickly straddled him, lowering her head and claiming his mouth. Her hands pulled at his hair, gripped at his biceps and tugged at his t-shirt, as if she was unsure of what to do with them.

Seth's hands wandered over her shoulders and around her back before resting on her thighs, running them back and forth over her soft skin. Any pure thoughts had disappeared the moment she'd pinned him to the car and he was well aware of the fact that all blood had rushed south, and so was Hermione, as she gave a delightful little whimper when she ground herself against him, the sound catching in his mouth and ringing in his ears.

Her hands gripped his t-shirt and she pulled him up, her fingers grasping the hem of his t-shirt which she promptly pulled over his head and it ended up on the floor of the passenger's side. His entire body burned as fire flared within him at her touch, as her soft hands ran down his back and gripped at his shoulders tightly. She continued to grind herself against him, pulling away for oxygen, her mouth travelled across his cheek and her teeth nibbled at his jaw, moving down his throat and sucking. She dragged her teeth across his shoulder, biting down gently and she sucked his earlobe into her mouth, nibbling lightly.

His breath hitched, he gasped, his body bucked into hers and she gave a moan, his hands flew to her hips, gripping tightly and proceeding to pull her against him.

"What's brought this on?" His voice came out thick and heavy.

She pulled back from him and locked her eyes with his. He was trapped in her gaze, her hands travelled over his chest and slipped between them, her nimble fingers deftly undoing the button and zipper of his jeans and she shifted backwards and slipped her hand into his boxers. Seth gave a choked sound as she wrapped what she could of her hand around his length.

"Fred... George... Lust Potion," was all she said breathily, her chest rising and falling and her eyes looking as though she wanted to devour him, and honestly, he wouldn't mind in the least.

"It's almost lunch, the parking lot will be crowded," a small part of his mind allowed him to remember.

"I guess we'll have to be quick then," she replied huskily, and everything inside of him clenched, twisted and burned.

She pushed him on to his back and shifted herself off him, far enough to be able to remove her knickers and Seth watched, his eyes glued to her as the pink lace slipped down her legs and landed on the floor of the car. She straddled him once more and her hands tugged at his jeans, with a little shifting on his part, she was able to pull both his jeans and boxers down far enough that his erection sprang to life, standing proudly for her view.

He knew he was inexperienced compared to her, she'd been his first and they'd only had sex twice, both for the first time all but a few days ago. He knew that his control and confidence would grow over time but at the moment he knew he wasn't going to last long, especially with the way Hermione was looking at him.

Before he could blink and with a speed he didn't know she was capable of achieving, she had taken him in her hand and she was hovering over him, with her eyes locked onto his she lined herself up. He sucked in a lungful of oxygen as he felt the heat radiating off her and he groaned as the tip of his member touched her wet folds.

She gave a little whimper as she slowly sank down onto him, her hands gripping at his biceps as he stretched her in ways Ron had never had and reached places within her, in ways Ron had never had. She stilled as he was buried inside of her to the hilt, her head tilted back and a moan left her as she finally had that void inside of her filled, as the aching within her began to subside. Her insides stopped burning and she no longer felt like she was going to combust, but her insides were knotted so tightly, it was a wonder she hadn't died from the sensation.

She opened her eyes and looked down at Seth, he had his teeth gritted and jaw clenched, his eyes were shut tightly and his hands gripped at her hips, she could already feel it bruising but she honestly didn't care. She leaned forward and kissed him softly, his eyes fluttering open and with her gaze locked with his, she started moving her hips until she found a rhythm that suited them both.

With her hands resting on the seat at either side of his head, she was able to look down into his beautiful hazel eyes. So kind, so loving, so caring. Merlin, she loved him, and she loved him with everything she had in her, how had that happened? When had that happened?

"Stop holding back," she whispered, seeing the way his jaw had locked.

"If I don't, I won't last much longer," he spoke through gritted teeth.

"I don't care, I want you, I want _all_ of you. Stop focusing on what you're doing. Stop thinking. Just do what feels right, do what you want to do."

Something within him changed as he let out one last steadying breath and then he pulled her down to him, claiming her mouth and she let out a noise that was both a moan and sigh as he thrust upwards into her. Hearing that sound sped him on.

Seth sat up and swung his body around until his feet were planted firmly on the ground. His hands slipped under her dress and wrapped around her hips, splaying against the small of her back, pulling her further against him as he thrust into her. Their sounds of pleasure were caught in each other's mouths, Hermione's hands alternated between tugging at his hair and gripping his shoulders, her nails leaving crescent-shaped marks.

She pulled back from him and sighed as his mouth trailed her neck and she gave a moan as he sucked and nibbled at her skin, his hands gripped at her hips as he began to lift her off him, only to pull her down as he thrust up into her. She gave a keening sound and begged him to do it again, her hands came up to the roof of the car to stop herself from banging her head as she bounced on him. As her moans grew louder, his grew deeper and she was mesmerised as his eyes shone and low wolf-like growls were leaving the back of his throat and rumbling in his chest.

Her walls were fluttering, her insides shifting about, her heart beating erratically and she knew she was close, just as she knew Seth was. She could see it in his eyes and she could feel the way he twitched inside of her, his breath hitching every few seconds. She grabbed his hand from her hip and slipped it under her dress. Their eyes held their gaze as Hermione guided Seth to her nub and she showed him how she liked to be touched and he was a fast learner, applying the perfect amount of pressure and using the right speed to work her up further.

Her own breath was hitching as whimpers and whines left her. Her head fell forward and she rested her forehead against his.

"I love you," she breathed out in a whisper.

His breathing stopped entirely and she gasped as his thumb pushed hard on her nub, his body stiffened and she felt him release inside of her, setting off her own orgasm. A mumble of her name left him and she whispered his name against his ear as her walls clamped around him tightly, refusing to let go. She slumped against him and his arms wrapped around her back, keeping her to him as they both clung to each other in silence, trying to regain their steady breathing pattern.

"You love me?" He whispered in disbelief, so quietly she almost hadn't heard him.

"I do." She didn't know what possessed her to say it but she was glad that she had.

"You love me?" He repeated louder

"I do."

"You love me?"

She drew back, locking gazes with him.

"I do. I love you with everything I have in me and everything I don't. You are the single most important person in my life," she confessed.

"What about Harry, your other friends, your brothers?" His brow furrowed slightly.

"I love them and I will always love them, but they don't need me. They don't need me the way I need you. They don't love me the way I love you. You make me so happy, Seth, happy in ways I've never felt before. You are my family now and even if I didn't have Harry or the Weasleys, I would be happy knowing that I had you. And although I was only supposed to be here temporarily, I'm staying for good. The thought of leaving you, of not being able to see you, of not being able to smother you at night scares me. I can't lose you, you are my lifeline. So, yes, Seth Harry Clearwater, you are the single most important person in my life and I love you."

She could see the happiness in his eyes, she could feel the happiness in his body, the way he somehow managed to hold her gently but tightly, caressing her cheek lovingly as he stared at her.

"I love you."

"How long have you been waiting to say that?" She asked him curiously.

"Since the day I stepped in front of you." She arched an eyebrow and he gave her a sheepish smile. "The first time we met, I _deliberately_ stepped in front of you. I smelt you, your scent filled the air, it surrounded me and I'd never smelled anything like it. It drew me to you, as did your voice. When I hear it, it tingles in my ears, it sends happiness through my entire body, it calms me and excites me. So, yes, I've been waiting a long time to say it, I love you, Hermione Jean Granger."

Her eyes shined with happy tears and she leaned forward to kiss him. As their lips touched, she gasped loudly and her walls clenched around Seth as he was still buried inside of her. She felt him startle in surprise and he twitched within her.

She tried to take deep breaths but it was futile, the Lust Potion the twins had slipped her was _not_ out of her system and knowing them, if it wasn't out of her system by now, it wouldn't be for the rest of the day.

She was going to kill them.

"What is it?" He asked her with a frown, as she brought a hand to her stomach and gritted her teeth.

"The twins, the bastards slipped me a Lust Potion as a joke. It's why I pounced on you when I saw you. I visited them this morning since England's seven hours ahead of us, they wanted help with a new product and I missed them so I popped over for a few hours. They put a Lust Potion in my cup of tea. It should've worn off by now and since it hasn't, it means they've altered it, so I have no idea how long it'll last. The longer you resist the urges, the more painful it becomes until you finally find release. The Lust Potion is starting to take effect again. I was hoping I could pull you out of your lesson for fifteen minutes but by the looks of things, it's going to be for the rest of the day."

The smile he gave her was sinful and she felt herself growing excited and it wasn't due to the potion. She groaned as Seth gripped her hips and pulled her into him and he slowly hardened within her, stretching her once more, her walls already fluttering. It seemed being a shifter had more advantages than she'd realised, namely, a rather impressive refractory period.

But then the school bell rang, signalling the start of lunch. They both looked at each before Hermione found her wand which had fallen to the floor, and she apparated them both to her tent, landing in the bedroom. She sent her car keys to Paul before she and Seth grew lost in each other.

~000~000~000~

Paul sat in the cafeteria with Jared, and not long later, Jacob, Embry and Quil joined them, all looking at their food in disgust but they were starving so they forced it down.

"Where's Seth?" Jared asked.

"He got a message saying that Sue wanted him to meet his cousin in the parking lot," Jacob answered.

"What cousin?" He frowned.

He shrugged. "No idea, Seth looked just as confused. He left class and never came back."

Suddenly, Paul dropped his fork and his hand went to his pocket and much to his surprise, he pulled out a set of car keys, of which, he immediately knew belonged to Hermione. The large red 'H' keychain gave it away, as did the witch's hat key chain. The latter he'd bought her as a joke, something she'd found insulting but funny.

"Where'd you get them from?" Embry asked, his head tilted to the side.

"I just found them in my pocket, they're Hermione's." His brow furrowed in thought. "I don't think it was Sue that sent him that message. It must've been Hermione, she must've needed him for something, she's somehow magicked these into my pocket, which means she didn't take her car." He turned his head to look out the window and he was able to see that he was right, her car was easy to spot in the crowd of parked cars, it was the largest and most expensive. "Whatever she needed him for was important," he spoke, putting the keys down on the table and looking at them. "Hermione would never pull Seth out of school if she didn't have to, she told me it's hard enough to get him here in the first place."

"And _how_ do you know that? You seem to be awfully close to her and we all know you have a thing for her," Jacob commented.

Paul lifted his gaze, seeing them all looking to him expectantly whilst Jared gave him a knowing look.

"I know because she told me. Me and her, we have a strange relationship. I'm _not_ sleeping with her, nor would I, even if she is a stunner. She's made it perfectly clear that she only sees me as a friend and I know she's in love with Seth, even if she hasn't told him yet. She would never cheat on him, not only does she not have it in her, she wouldn't after her ex did that to her. We have an understanding and she's helping me to control my anger," he admitted and they all stared at him shocked.

~000~000~000~

Later that day, as the bell rang to signal the end of school, Jared and Paul headed straight to Hermione's car. It had come somewhat of a routine for Hermione to pick him and Jared up from Seth's in the morning and she would drive them to school and later pick them up. She'd dropped them off that morning and Paul was glad she'd remembered to somehow get her keys to him, otherwise, they would've had to walk home; there was no way he and Jared would've fit in Jacob's car.

Jared frowned as he found Seth's backpack on the ground and he picked it up whilst Paul climbed into the driver's side and the scent of sweat and sex immediately hit his nose. He and Jared shared a look before Jared noticed Seth's t-shirt on the floor, and Paul looked to the backseat, finding a pair of shoes and pink lace knickers.

Laughter burst from him. "Well, now we know why she pulled him out of school," he commented. "It seems she couldn't wait for the end of the school day."

"I would say so," Jared replied, gesturing to the backpack he'd just put onto the back seat.

"I think Seth's just become my hero," Paul spoke.

Jared snorted at him. "He's got a better sex life than you now."

"If Hermione was my imprint you wouldn't see either of us at all."

"Guess it's a good job Seth imprinted on her then," Jared sent him a look that clearly said 'back off and leave it alone.'

~000~000~000~

Later that night, Seth arrived at the clearing where everyone else was waiting for the Cullens to arrive. He arrived to whistles, cheers and applause whilst Leah leaned against a tree looking bored and Collin and Brady looked confused.

"You're officially my hero," Paul laughed.

"What're you talking about?" Seth grumbled, leaning back against a tree for support.

God, _everywhere_ hurt! The Lust Potion still hadn't worn off Hermione after another five rounds of sex, and by that time, he was sore, aching and tired, not to mention, hungry. But Hermione wouldn't let him eat, saying that it was too painful for her to resist the effects of the potion and that had led to _another_ tumble in the sheets. The plus side to the situation was that Seth felt more confident in his self than he had earlier that day and he'd impressed himself with his own virility. He didn't even think it was possible but he supposed it was likely due to his shifting and healing abilities.

"We know Hermione was the one that pulled you out of school," he smirked. "She somehow magicked her car keys into my pocket, and when we got in her car, well, it was _enlightening_ to say the least. It wasn't difficult to see what you'd been up to."

The others sniggered at him.

"Have you been with her all this time?" Jared asked amused.

Seth tried to stifle a yawn as he nodded but failed.

"Fucking hell," Paul muttered.

"It's not her fault," Seth defended. "She visited her friends in England, the twin pranksters, and they slipped a Lust Potion into her tea. She said the longer you resist the urges, the more painful it becomes until you're in unbearable pain. It should've worn off hours ago but she's discovered her friends have altered the potion to make it stronger."

"Has it worn off now?" Jacob asked with a raised eyebrow and looking as though he wanted to laugh but he was trying very hard to restrain himself.

"No," he sighed, rubbing at his eyes and yawning again. They sniggered at him. "I just need to get tonight over with so she's not suffering in pain for too long. She understands I have responsibilities to the pack and Tribe, I'm just grateful the pain's starting to dull, so she can withstand it longer and hopefully it will wear off soon."

"Seth, you're exhausted," Sam commented, seeing the way he was leaning against a tree for support and he was all but swaying in exhaustion, struggling to stay upright.

"I'm fine," he waved him off, a wince falling from him at the movement. "Just no one touch me, I don't want to fall over, or hurt the only part of my body that isn't currently aching."

They sniggered.

"She's worn you out," Paul smirked. "How many times?" He pressed.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Leah grimace and cover her ears.

"I lost count after eight," he admitted sheepishly and the others stared in surprise.

"She jumped you _eight_ times?" Jared spluttered.

"No, I stopped _counting_ at eight, it was more than that. Man, I'm aching in places I didn't even know could ache, and I've pulled muscles I didn't even know I had."

They burst out laughing, finding too much amusement in his predicament, unsure if they should feel jealous of sorry for him.

"And she's waiting for me to get back," he mumbled, causing their laughter to double. Quil nearly hit the ground and Jared stumbled back into a tree.

"Can't you just..." Embry made a rude gesture with his fingers and Seth felt his cheeks heat up as his eyes darted to the ground.

"No, it doesn't work," he muttered, the laughter only growing louder and Jacob had tears leaking from his eyes as he held his ribs.

"Seth, go back to her."

He looked up at Sam, seeing him chuckling but trying to remain stoic.

"I can't; I'm needed here," Seth protested.

"I think _she_ _needs you_ more, she's in pain and you're the only one that can relieve her from it," Sam spoke with a straight face, but once again, it set the others off crying with laughter.

"I'm going to get a Lust Potion from Hermione and slip it to all of you, then we'll see how funny it," Seth mumbled before turning and wobbling out of view.

"I hope you're being careful!" Paul called through his laughter.

Seth growled in response. Hermione had explained to him about the Contraception Potion she was on, so yes, they were being safe, not that he'd mention it to the others.

He could hear their laughter for the next mile and the moment he entered the tent, Hermione was there waiting and she pounced on him, dragging him back to the bedroom.

He knew he wasn't going to be able to get out of bed the next morning; he would have to take the day off school, not that he minded. He could stay in bed all day and snuggle with the young woman he loved and adored.

Well, if he lived that long and she didn't kill him first.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 8

**Thursday 22nd June 2006**

Hermione had come to Seth and told him that she was ready to meet his mother and he'd almost choked on his breakfast in surprise before beaming a smile and immediately informing who his very excited mother. His mother had then spoken to Billy and Quil III, who agreed to hold a bonfire on that same night so Hermione could hear the tale of the legends just as every other imprint had experienced.

Hermione had agreed to the terms of the bonfire as long as no other imprint attended, which he and the pack understood and she'd asked that Harry be allowed to attend as she didn't want to feel outnumbered and she wanted someone who could help her explain things, someone who was on her side, and after contacting Harry, he'd agreed without thought.

That had been the day after the Lust Potion incident and it had taken both Seth and Hermione a couple of days to recover, and to be honest, she was still a little sore now, especially if she moved too quickly or if she tried to lift something a little too heavy; she'd received nothing but teasing and taunting from Paul when he came to visit, but after a threat of slipping him a Hair-loss Potion, he'd soon kept his comments to himself, she only wished he'd done the same with his irritating smirk and laughter.

But now the time had come; she'd be meeting Seth's mother first and then an hour later they'd be meeting up for the bonfire, which she believed was to be by Jacob's house. She stood before the mirror scrutinising herself, deciding whether or not to change. She wore black skinny jeans with pink ballet pumps and a smart-casual pink blouse that covered her arms. Her hair was left to flow down her back in soft, shiny ringlets and she'd made sure to have her galleon in her pocket.

She debated putting on some robes, not wanting to seem weird but it was the norm for her, she'd gotten used to it and they were comfortable and warm and she could easily hide her wand and beaded bag in her pockets, having them in reach but out of sight.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Seth asked as entered her bedroom wearing his usual trainers, jean shorts and a dark t-shirt.

She turned to face him, her eyes flickering to her robes and he noticed and chuckled. He picked them up and walked over to her, slipping the simple black robes up her arms and onto her shoulders.

"I wasn't sure whether to wear them or not, they might think me weird," she admitted.

"Hermione, you wear what makes you comfortable, and I understand that robes are a part of your culture, that you were made to wear them practically every day. If they make you comfortable, they make you comfortable. It's a part of who you are and you shouldn't hide it for fear of anyone thinking you're weird. The pack understands and are used to seeing you wearing them, my mom won't care, she'll be too busy suffocating you with her bear hug, and Billy and Quil will be too preoccupied learning about your magic rather than focusing on how you're dressed." She sighed and nodded. "You look beautiful," he swept a curl behind her ear and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You always say that," she pointed out.

"And I always mean it," he responded. "Have you contacted Harry?"

"Yes, I feel guilty dragging him out here when he should be sleeping, but I think it'd be easier for me to have him here."

He nodded in understanding. "Do you have everything?"

She grabbed her wand and beaded bag, placing it into her pocket before nodding, taking his hand and they left her tent and with her wand in hand, she apparated them both to Seth's house.

~000~000~000~

They landed with a sharp crack and Seth with still struggling with the effects of apparition, she chuckled and rubbed his back for him until he was able to stand straight without the risk of losing his stomach's content. Taking her hand in his, he led her to the house, opening the door and pulling her inside.

She smiled at the small hallway, of which she could tell had seen its fair share of visitors as the floor looked worn and faded, the mustard yellow walls were lined with photographs of Seth's family, some looking old and some newer, and when she had the time she would observe them properly.

He dragged her into the kitchen which opened up to the living room and showed a hallway that she could see had several doors, likely bedrooms and the bathroom. The kitchen was simple, decorated in red and cream and containing all of the regular muggle appliances expected to be found in a muggle kitchen. In the centre sat a wooden table with four matching chairs, two either side.

"Seth? Is that you?" A woman's voice called.

"Yeah, Mom," he replied and into the kitchen walked Seth's mother.

Seth released her hand and went over to greet his mother. Sue Clearwater had long black hair which she'd left down, spilling over her shoulders. She had dark brown eyes and unlike Seth she had copper skin with a few wrinkles around her eyes; Hermione knew she was in her early fifties but she looked no older than mid-forties, and she was smaller than Hermione, standing at five-foot-four.

He pulled back from his mother's hug and crossed over her, taking her hand in his. "Mom, I'd like to officially introduce you to my girlfriend, Hermione," he beamed with pride and Hermione had to force down the blush.

Hermione held out her hand but she was surprised when she was pulled into a hug, and Seth was right, she _did_ have a bear hug. "It's wonderful to finally meet you," she chirped happily, drawing back, her eyes carefully examining her before she smiled at Seth.

"She's beautiful," she commented, Seth's smile growing bigger and heat flooding Hermione's cheek as she ducked her head shyly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Ms. Clearwater," Hermione replied politely with a friendly smile.

"Don't be silly, Dear, call me Sue."

"Seth mentioned that you adored flowers," Hermione commented and she nodded in response whilst Seth looked down her, wondering what she was up to.

Hermione pulled her beaded bag from her pocket and opened it, reaching in. Sue gasped, her hand coming up to her mouth and a look of awe and surprise on her face as Hermione's arm disappeared up to her shoulder.

"Got it," she said triumphantly and she pulled out a vase of flowers, but they weren't ordinary flowers, and she handed them to Sue. "I brought these as a gift."

"Oh, there's absolutely beautiful," she whispered in awe, gently running her fingertips over the soft petals.

Hermione smiled, pleased that she liked her gift. The flowers were, in fact, a wizarding breed known as Flutterby Roses.

"I have never seen anything so..." She trailed off, unable to find the words.

"Magical?" Hermione offered and she nodded slowly in agreement. "These are Flutteryby Roses, they're a wizarding breed of flower. They're rare due to the fact the petals change colour frequently, some can even be multicoloured and although they are roses, the petals have a shape similar to a butterfly's wings, which is how they got their name."

"They are truly a wonderful gift, thank you," she responded, smiling softly. "Let's sit and have a chat," Sue suggested and Seth walked Hermione over to the table, sitting down next to her whilst Sue placed vase beside her and sat opposite them. "So, Hermione, tell me about yourself," she encouraged, sitting forward and giving Hermione her full attention.

"Well, I'm Hermione Granger, I'm eighteen, I'm a Muggleborn witch meaning I'm a first-generation magic practitioner and I've recently fought in a war," she said simply.

"Seth has told me all about your war, and I imagine it must be painful for you to talk about it, so I won't ask," she gave Hermione a soft and understanding look.

"Thank you, it's been over a year but everything's still a little raw. A lot of people died, a lot of good people and I did some things that I'm not proud of but they were necessary for not only my survival but my friends, too. I witnessed things I never thought possible and I experienced things I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemies, but now, the war's over and the Wizarding World's healing."

"Tell me more about your world, Seth mentioned that you have your own government?"

"Yes, we do," Hermione nodded, "The Ministry of Magic, and it's essentially the magical government and there are different branches all around the world, I technically abide by the laws of both the British and American Ministries. Just as you do, we have laws, too, surrounding everything you could think of, from crime and punishment to education, to sports and business."

"What else does your world have?" She asked curiously.

"We have everything that you do, we're still human beings and we have the same needs, wants and desires, only we are born with the ability to practice magic, and you have technology and science. We have our own banks and schools, police force, hospitals, careers, businesses, sports, transport, newspapers and magazines, musicians and animal conservationists. Every job that you have available here, you are more than likely to find in the Wizarding World, only it may differ slightly due to the different requirements and needs."

"Fascinating," she chirped, leaning further forward. "Seth mentioned magical creatures, do zombies exist?"

Hermione chuckled. "No, zombies don't exist, as far as I'm aware that it."

Sue looked both relieved and disappointed before she asked, "May I see some magic?"

"Of course, do you like bunny rabbits?" Hermione asked and Seth chuckled, sitting back in his chair and waiting to see what she had up her sleeve.

"Bunny rabbits?" Sue tipped her head in confusion.

Hermione gestured behind her and she turned, a gasp falling from her lips at the sight of three baby rabbits –one black, one white and one caramel brown- currently hopping about her kitchen floor. She laughed in delight and turned her eyes back to Hermione.

"I thought pulling a rabbit out of a hat was a bit cliché," Hermione shrugged and Seth burst into laughter. With a flick of her wand from beneath the table, the rabbits transfigured back into the magazines they'd once been.

"That's incredible," Sue commented.

Hermione nodded to Sue's shirt and she looked down and laughed, seeing that it was now pink, then it changed to blue, then orange, finally settling on white.

"Magic truly is wonderful."

"Yes, good magic is, I'm a good witch, I only practice magic which is legal and unfortunately, there are witches and wizards out there that will spit on good magic, preferring the lure of dark and illegal magic. That's why we have Aurors, magical policemen that capture dark magic practitioners."

"What else can you show me?" She asked, her eyes wide in anticipation.

Hermione performed several feats of magic, apparating from one side of the room to another, summoning a pillow from the couch, conjuring a glass and filling it with water and even pulling out a magical photo from her beaded bag of her and Harry getting water dumped over them on a sunny day after the war. Sue exclaimed in amazement when she saw it moving.

Seth excused himself to use the bathroom and that's when Sue asked the question Hermione had been waiting for.

"How do you feel about my son?"

Hermione's eyes darted to the hallway where Seth had vanished and then she lifted her wand and muttered under her breath.

"Silencing Charm," she explained seeing the confused look on Sue's face. "It will prevent anyone from overhearing us, especially Mr. Super Hearing, over there," she gestured to the hallway with a tip of the head.

"So, how do you feel about my son?" She repeated.

Hermione fiddled with her hands under the table and bit her lip nervously.

"Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without him," she confessed. "He's changed me in ways I never thought possible, and I absolutely adore him. He's so kind and considerate, so caring and such a gentle soul, I love him," she blushed and her eyes looked up through her lashes to see Sue smiling at her. "He's my lifeline, without him I'd be a shell of who I used to be. He treats me like no one else has before, and I know I'm not perfect, I'm not special, I'm not stunningly beautiful, but he tells me I am. Even with my past and the scars I have from war, he still tells me I'm beautiful and he'll argue with me over the fact until he's won."

"He doesn't judge me for what I've had to do or what or who I am; he doesn't have expectations for me like everyone else. He allows me to be me and when I'm in a mood or I'm sad, he'll just sit with me until I feel better. I need him and not how most people need each other. I mean I really do _need_ him, I can't sleep unless he's by my side. He's the only thing that keeps away my memories of the war and of everything I've suffered, or every death I witnessed. When he's around me, I feel happy, happy in ways I've never felt before and in ways I never thought possible."

"He encourages me to do things I'm afraid of, he makes me laugh and I know that when he says he loves me, he means it. I'm so dependent on him I'm ashamed of myself, but I don't think I'd be able to get through life without him by my side. It doesn't matter how long I've known him, I just know that I need him. I am utterly besotted with him and I don't know what I did to be gifted his love, I truly don't deserve him."

Hermione felt something hit her cheeks and that's when she realised she was crying. She reached up and wiped her tears away with her sleeve and when she lifted her gaze, she was surprised to see that Sue was crying, too.

They both shared a laugh and a sniffle.

"I was only supposed to be here temporarily and then I'd move on, but as I told Seth the other day, I'm staying for good, this is my home now. I can't bear the thought of living without him and I know that where I need to be is here. And the thought of asking him to leave his family and his pack never even crossed my mind. I couldn't do that to him, nor would I ever ask it of him."

Before Sue could respond, Hermione removed the Silencing Charm seeing that Seth was stood in the hallway, staring at them with an innocent look on his face.

"You were trying to listen in, weren't you?" Hermione spoke with a knowing smile.

"I've no idea what you're talking about," he denied.

"What did you hear?" She asked amused.

"Static, only static and it was frustrating," he grumbled. She laughed at his pout and Sue chuckled and leaned back into her chair.

"Don't be grumpy," Hermione scolded lightly, standing from her chair to cross over to him but as she reached him, she gave a loud gasp and she fell to the floor.

"Hermione!" Seth called.

Sue darted from her chair faster than should've been possible and she knelt beside her whilst Seth was already on the floor with Hermione in his arms as she gripped his t-shirt and whimpers left her. Seth had her head buried against his chest and one hand in her hair whilst he murmured in her ear.

Sue was horrified to see that Hermione was visibly shaking, she could she see her knuckles turning white from the grip she had on Seth's t-shirt, she could hear the whimpers of pain and the sound of teeth clenching. She sat there for a few minutes, not knowing what to do or how to help, she stared horrified. Hermione gave another gasp and her whimpers died down and she pulled back from Seth, tears flowing down her face.

"Mom, will you get some water, please?" Seth asked but his eyes remained on Hermione as he wiped away her tears with his thumbs. She didn't reply, she was too busy quickly grabbing a glass and filling it with water, kneeling back on the ground beside them and handing it to Hermione who took it with a shaking hand.

"Thank you," she sighed, sipping from the glass carefully.

"What just happened?" Sue asked quietly, her own eyes watering at what she'd just witnessed.

"I have been diagnosed with Magical Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, what you just witnessed was one of the side effects I have to deal with. It's an after-effect of the torture sessions I suffered through," Hermione explained, her voice sounding tired.

"You poor, Dear," she whispered, looking like she wanted to wrap Hermione up in a hug and never let go but Seth had that covered. Seth helped her to stand and rather than sitting at the table, he took her over to the couch and sat down beside her, Sue sitting on the couch opposite them.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here and not in England?" She asked, changing the subject. Seth stiffened and a growl rumbled in his chest, surprising his mother. Hermione soothed him by running a hand down his arm.

"I returned to school after the war to complete my education, around this time I started dating Ronald, he was my other best friend besides Harry. There were a lot of expectations between myself and Ronald, expectations of us to date and marry and have a brood of curly redheads running about. We started dating and things were going fine until Ronald always wanted us to go out for dinner or to a club when I was home at the weekends. Ronald loved the spotlight whereas I did my best to avoid it. Photos of him and other women started cropping up in the newspapers, I confronted him and he denied everything saying they were taken out of context and I believed him, but on the day of my graduation I returned home and I found him with another woman."

Sue gasped, her hands coming up to her mouth.

"It was then that I discovered he'd been cheating on me for seven months and he'd gotten the girl pregnant. That led me to where I am now, searching for fugitives and capturing them. No one but Harry and the leader our magical government knows where I am for my protection and privacy. I still receive mail from Ronald, begging me to take him back and his mother keeps sending letters about wedding planning."

"Are you being serious?" Sue blinked slowly.

Hermione nodded, using her wand to conjure the last two letters she'd received, the ones Seth had seen and she handed them to Sue who read them over before looking to Hermione with wide eyes and a parted mouth.

"I think this woman's slightly insane," Sue muttered, giving her head a light shake and Hermione snorted. "I don't understand how she believes she has the right to tell you that you _are_ to be a housewife and that you _must_ have children within a year of marriage, or even that you have to marry her son at all. Is it a magical thing?"

"No, Mrs. Weasley's always been a little..." She paused, searching for the correct term.

"Nuts?" Sue offered lightly.

It pulled a laugh from Hermione and she nodded slightly.

"I will never return to Ronald, even if I hadn't have met Seth. I love the Weasley family, I grew up with them, they practically raised me as their daughter and their children my siblings as I didn't spend a lot of time with my parents once I entered the Wizarding World, I spent my school holidays with the Weasleys every year after I turned thirteen. I'm upset with her behaviour as she's always been a second mother to me and now I've lost her."

"Where are your parents?" Sue tipped her head to the side in confusion.

"They died, I used magic to protect them during the war but they, unfortunately, never made it. I have no other living relatives, I'm an orphan."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Dear," she responded sadly and Seth's around slipped around her shoulders and he gently tugged her to lean against him. "Well, you have a mother in me if you should want so and you will always have a place in our family."

Hermione felt tears welling up in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered as Seth placed a kiss to her forehead and smiled at his mother. "You're not going to force me into marrying your son, are you?" She questioned playfully.

"Of course not, though I may be a bit moody if you don't allow me the chance to cry at my son's wedding," Sue replied without hesitation. Hermione and Seth snorted at her.

"Are you going to force me into having a brood of children?"

"No, but I'm not opposed to the idea of having little shape-shifting witches or wizards running about and destroying my house."

Hermione chuckled and snuggled into Seth further as he darted a glance towards the clock on the kitchen wall.

"We should probably get going, they'll be waiting for us at the bonfire," he informed them and Sue nodded, leaving to gather her things and Seth turned to Hermione. "You okay?"

"Yes, I like your mother," she commented and he beamed at her, giving her a chaste kiss.

"Believe me, she _loves_ you, I give it till I graduate and then she'll be taking me ring shopping." She laughed at him. "I'm being serious," he chuckled. "But in all seriousness, if you want to get married, I'll do it anywhere, anytime; tomorrow or on our death bed. And if you don't want children, I won't force it on you, if you do, then we'll have as many as you want."

"And if we have to adopt?"

Seth tipped his head slightly, knowing there was something she was keeping from him but he knew when not to push her on something. She'd tell him when she was ready, he was sure.

"We could adopt every child in Washington if you wished to," he confirmed and she rolled her eyes at him. "Are you ready for round two?"

"No," she sighed, exhausted, "But Harry will be there, just be grateful it's not the twins," she shivered just thinking of all the chaos they'd cause.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 8

**Thursday 22nd June 2006**

“You ready?” Seth asked her quietly, seeing that his mother was pulling up to Jacob’s house and he could hear his packmates as they were already present and he could see the glow of the bonfire.

“As long as I don’t have to repeat myself and explain the war again,” she sighed tiredly. He squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“You’ll be fine, the pack’s already explained for you and Harry will be there with you, he can do it if needs be. The pack will stand beside you, as will Harry.”

“As will I, Dear,” his mother added, turning in her seat behind the wheel to look back at them. Seth smiled at her gratefully. “I won’t allow Billy or Quil to upset you.”

“Thank you,” Hermione whispered.

“Not a problem, I said that you will always have a place in this family and I meant it,” she replied. “Now, we’re here,” she said, climbing out of the car and shutting the door behind her, walking off and giving them a moment of privacy.

“I can see where you get your kindness from,” Hermione commented.

Seth chuckled before placing another kiss to her forehead and they both climbed out of the car and he took her hand as they headed towards the voices. As soon as they were spotted, all conversation stopped and they turned to smile and wave at them in greeting, Collin and Brady running up to her, taking her hands from Seth and pulling her over to the bonfire. She sat on a cushioned log and they sat on the ground in front of her, firing off questions about the _Monster Book of Monsters_.

The pack chuckled, Sue smiled warmly at the sight and Billy and Quil observed her quietly as she smiled and interacted with the young pups, watching how they responded to her. Their eyes widened slightly when the pups hugged her tightly before standing and running off into the trees and Hermione’s eyes lifting, catching sight of Seth who was in the middle of a conversation with Jacob and Jared but the moment he felt her star, he crossed over to her, took her hand and led her over to Billy and Quil.

“Billy, Mr. Ateara, this is Hermione Granger,” Seth introduced proudly.

“It’s nice to meet you both, I’m sorry it has taken me so long to respond to your invitation to a meeting,” she said politely.

They seemed surprised by her words and Sue smiled at her softly.

They cleared their throats. “And it’s nice to meet you as well, Jacob has spoken of you highly,” Billy said.

“And so has Quil,” the other council member spoke, surprising both her and Seth.

“They have?” They both questioned, turning to look at the two teens and they shrugged in response.

“We’ve only told them what we know of you and what we’ve seen, we haven’t lied or exaggerated,” Jacob replied. Hermione blinked in surprise.

“We have a few questions regarding your involvement with the pack,” Billy spoke.

“Oh, Billy, let the poor girl breathe,” Sue scolded, making the others snigger. “We should tell her of the legends, as we have every other pack member and imprint, regardless of her abilities.”

Seth smiled at his mother and pulled Hermione to sit beside him.

Billy cleared his throat and Hermione listened enraptured as he told of the legends of the Tribe and it’s shape-shifting proctors and by when he’d finished, Hermione turned to look at Seth.

“He tells is better,” she stated. The others snorted at her and Seth scowled playfully, making her laugh.

“Now,” Billy interrupted and Jacob rolled his eyes.

“Give her a minute, Dad,” he interrupted.

Hermione smiled at him before digging around in her pocket and pulling out her galleon, drawing her wand and pressing the tip against the gold coin, sending Harry the signal.

“What are you doing?” Quil III asked, looking a cross between suspicious and curious.

“Informing Harry that we’re ready for him, I didn’t want to intrude on your privacy of knowing the truth behind the legends and although I know Harry would never tell anyone, I didn’t want to betray your trust before I had earned it,” she answered. They blinked in surprise and Sue’s smile widened further.

A loud crash sounded off in the distance and it was followed by a loud groan coming from the cover of the trees.

Hermione laughed. “You alright, Harry?” She called over her shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he yelled in reply through a groan and she laughed with the pack now joining in.

“This seems familiar,” Seth commented amusedly.

She shrugged in reply. “It’s a regular occurrence with Harry, he’s pants at port-keying, never has gotten the hang of it.” She turned to the council members. “Port-keying is a form of magical travel, it is essentially teleporting and it is used for long-distance travel,” she explained for their benefit, and they looked surprised and awed. “I often visit London as I can travel from here to there in a matter of minutes, though a port-key has to be approved by our government before one can be made and used. Since Harry is a magical policeman and he works for the government, not to mention that he’s friends with our version of the President, it won’t have taken much for the port-key to be approved.”

She turned her head and a beam spread across her face when she saw Harry stepping out of the cover of the trees, wearing muggle jeans and a t-shirt with his grey Auror robes left open. His dark messy hair had leaves and twigs sticking out of it and his glasses were askew on his face. She stood and rushed over to him and he laughed when she jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. She pulled back from him, grabbed his hand and tugged him over to the bonfire.

“Everyone, I would like to officially introduce you to Harry Potter,” Hermione introduced to the pack and the Tribal council members. Harry smiled and gave them a nervous wave and they chorused a greeting. “He’s my best friend.”

“Ouch,” he faked hurt. “I see I’ve been demoted.”

She rolled her eyes. “Sorry, this is Harry Potter, my best friend _and_ little brother,” she amended.

“Doesn’t matter, the damage is done; I now know where I stand with you,” he sniffed, looking away from her.

She scowled at him. “Shut it, Potter, or I’ll let the twins loose in your office.”

He winced. “You play dirty.”

She rolled her eyes before she reached up and pulled the debris from his hair and she took his glasses from him, whispering a spell to fix the crack in the glass and she handed them back to him, hearing the chuckles of the pack in the background.

“What?” She and Harry chorused with matching expression of confusion. The shifters laughed louder and shook their heads, waving them off.

“Alright, now that Harry’s here, we can get started on answering those questions,” Hermione said cheerily.

“Err, actually... We have to wait for someone else,” Harry said sheepishly, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck.

“What do you mean?” She asked, her glare growing harder with each word she spoke until he took a step back from her.

“He means me,” a voice spoke from behind them.

Hermione spun on her heel so fast she almost tripped. “Minster!” She squeaked.

“Harry, do the honours,” Kingsley chuckled.

She yelped in surprise when Harry’s hand connected with the back of her head.

“Ow! What the bloody hell was that for?” She glared at him, rubbing her sore head and she thumped him in the arm in return, making him wince and he reached up to rub the aching spot.

“We agreed that every time you refer to me as ‘Minister’ and not Kings, you were to be hit,” Kingsley said amusedly.

She huffed and folded her arms over her chest. “It’s still weird,” her nose wrinkled, “I know we fought in battle together and I know we saved each other’s lives countless times, but you’re the _Minister_ now, calling you anything but your title would be disrespectful.”

He snorted at her. “It is my decision when I think someone is being disrespectful and you are anything but. The Order of the Phoenix is a family, and that binds us together in more ways than one. To you, I am Kings and I always will be.”

“Fine,” she rolled her eyes. “Why are you here?”

“I have been informed that the Statute of Secrecy has been broken and muggles are aware of the existence of magic.” Hermione’s already pale skin seemed to turn sickly as her eyes flickered to the confused tribal members, the pack, and then to a concerned-looking Seth.

“I’m sorry,” she said guiltily. “I will accept any punishment that the Wizengamot sees fit.”

“Punishment!?” The growl ripped from the back of Seth’s throat and he’s stood and crossed over to her so fast, they’d barely seen him move. His arms folded around her protectively and he held her against him, his glare of warning locked firmly on Kingsley.

“So, this is your shape-shifter?” Kingsley surmised, far from afraid and Hermione nodded. “I like him,” he decisively.

“I thought you might,” Hermione smiled.

“Yes, a right sight better than Mr. Weasley.”

Harry snorted. “A flobberworm’s better than him.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or insult towards Seth,” Hermione mused.

Seth growled, interrupting them and bringing them back to the subject at hand.

“Sorry,” apologised Kingsley, eyeing Seth curiously. “Hermione, I will not allow the Wizengamot to demand punishment. If I were to, you would be given the death penalty of the dementor’s kiss.”

Seth’s hold on her tightened, feeling the heat of his body through their clothing as noises of surprise and horror sounded from behind them.

“What you have done _has_ broken the laws written to protect our people but I understand the circumstances surrounding your actions, and we both know the Wizengamot want nothing more than to see your head hanging in the Ministry of Magic,” Kingsley said softly. Seth squeezed her and she winced in pain, he lessened his hold slightly but not by much. “I am here to prevent them from being able to demand action be taken for your actions.”

“How are you going to do that?” Her brow furrowed.

His hand disappeared beneath his robes and he pulled back with a stack of paperwork in hand.

“A non-disclosure agreement?” Hermione guessed.

“Yes, only it’s been modified for muggle usage.” He turned towards Billy, Quil III and Sue, knowing they were the Tribal Leaders. “If you wish for Hermione and Harry to answer any questions you may have regarding our world and people, you are required to sign this non-disclosure agreement. The secret of magic must be kept.”

“And if we don’t sign?” Billy challenged.

The shifters were deadly quiet as they listened, their eyes flickering between a serious-looking Kingsley, a sickly and frightened-looking Hermione and a frowning Billy.

“If you do not sign, Hermione will be put on trial and she will be found guilty of breaking the most sacred law of the Wizarding World. There are a lot of people that want her dead after her role in winning the war, a lot of politically powerful people. They will see to it that she be given the death penalty in which her soul and life force will be ripped out of her by a dark magical creature.”

Sue looked to Hermione in horror and Hermione lowered her gaze to the ground, refusing to meet anyone’s gaze and Seth could feel her shaking in his arms.

“Sign the damn thing,” he snarled out, his wolf coming to the surface in need to protect his imprint. He could feel himself on the verge of shaking as his body tensed and his hands clenched into fights where they lay against Hermione’s stomach.

“I’ll sign,” Sue said quickly, standing from her camping chair and moving over to him to take the paperwork and he silently offered her a pen.

“Hang on a minute,” Sam interrupted, trying to be the mediator since he was the Alpha, it was his job to keep the peace and protect the pack and Tribe. “What will happen if they do sign the contract?”

“If they go against the terms of the contract and reveal the secret of magic to anyone but those currently present, a member of the Ministry will be immediately notified and your minds will be wiped of the existence of magic. And Mind Magic is complicated, they could try to remove a fifteen minute conversation and unintentionally remove fifteen years of memories. As long as the terms of the contract aren’t violated, nothing will happen.”

Sue had already signed and handed the contract back and one it was in his grasp, it glowed a soft, one that surrounded her before it faded.

“The binding of the contract is now in place,” Kingsley informed her.

Billy looked hesitant but when he saw the majority of pack watching him expectantly, he sighed in defeat before signing his name with Quil III following his lead.

“Now that Hermione’s protected, we can continue with this meeting.”

Hermione lifted her gaze from the ground, feeling Seth’s tense body relax significantly.

“Kingsley is the Minister of the British Ministry of Magic, he is essentially the equivalent to the President for our world.” They looked surprised and shifted in their seats nervously at the news. “Kingsley will be a good source of information, seeing as I am a Muggleborn and Harry is a Half-blood, we were both raised here, in the Muggle World. Kingsley is a Pureblood and he comes from a long line of magical ancestry, he was not only raised in the Wizarding World but he has valuable knowledge and a greater understanding of the way things work.”

~000~000~000~

They had been sat for two hours, everyone listening carefully to their answers to questions posed, and finally, Billy asked the question she was waiting for.

“Are you a threat to the Tribe and pack?”

“No,” she answered honestly. “If anything, I am an ally. I will help to keep your Tribe safe in any manner that is possible for me to do so, and I will aid the pack in any way that I can, if they so wish me to.”

“I’ve heard of the damage you can cause,” he commented.

She looked at him sadly. “It’s true that I’ve done things I’m not proud of, I’ve hurt people and taken lives, but I was forced into a situation I had no business being a part of, I was a _child_. A war should’ve never been needed to right the world and find peace. I was discriminated against because I’m a first-generation magic practitioner, I was hated for who I was born to and I was a target. People tried to kill me for it. If you weren’t a Pureblood fighting for the Voldemort, committing genocide and torturing and raping, then you weren’t safe. I don’t regret fighting in the war because I know I did everything I could to protect the innocent, but I do regret that so many lives were lost no matter where their allegiance lied.”

Harry took her hand and squeezed tightly and they shared a look that had those watching them shifting in their seats awkwardly, feeling as though they were intruding on something private.

She sighed. “It is true that I can hurt someone, it is true that I can kill someone without using dark magic, but I don’t hurt the innocent, nor do I strike first. I only defend myself and others when necessary and I’ve promised myself that I will never take another life again, I don’t think I’d be able to cope if I were to. I only use magic on my opponents that will incapacitate them. But what you have to understand is that although I can cause some damage, I don’t enjoy doing it. I prefer to practice good magic.”

She flicked her wand and gasps rang out as sparks were suddenly spitting from the bonfire and they rained over them, the sparks transfiguring into snowflakes. They lifted their hands, snowflakes floating down into their palms.

“I love magic with everything in me, it’s who I am, it’s what I am and there’s nothing I can do to change that. Asking me to suppress my magic would be the same as ripping out my heart. My magic is my life force, it’s what allows me to function, it keeps me alive and if I don’t exercise it regularly, I will have a magic build up and I’ve been known to have a few magical outbursts when I’m angered or upset,” she shrugged and Harry snorted.

“That’s putting it mildly, I distinctively remember you setting Sirius’ couch on fire.”

They stared surprised.

“He hated that couch anyway,” Hermione waved him off. “I did him a favour.”

“He would’ve worshipped the ground you walked on if it had been Walburga’s portrait.”

They shared a sad smile.

“Are you able to use magic on those that aren’t magical?” Sue asked her.

“It’s generally a rule that magic be kept away from muggles, and so magic is only used when it has to be, such as wiping a muggle’s memory as magic has been exposed to them, otherwise there are laws protecting muggles from being mistreated by magic.” Their surprise at the news was evident. “I am able to use magic on the pack.”

“You said you couldn’t?” Sam frowned.

“No, I said I couldn’t _harm_ you with magic,” she corrected. “If you remember, I took Seth swimming underwater for an hour using magic, and I apparate with him all the time. _Rictumsempra_ ,” she said suddenly, her wand pointed at Jared.

He fell off the tree stump he’d been perched on and hit the ground, rolling around and laughing uncontrollably before she cancelled the spell. She smiled at him and he glared in response but there was no malice behind it.

“That was a Tickling Jinx, first years learn it,” she shrugged. “My point being, I am able to use magic on you but seeing as you’re shape-shifters, I have to put more power behind the magic as you’re stronger targets than I’m used to. My magic is likely to wear off on you a lot quicker than it would anyone else. I am an ally, and I won’t harm a member of the pack or Tribe. If you can’t take my word for it, know that I instigated a magically binding contract that will kill me if I were to break the terms stated.”

“You made an Unbreakable Vow!” Harry’s voice rose as he sprang to his fight, anger overtaking his features as he stared down at her. “How could you be so irresponsible, so stupid? You’ve seen the damage they do!” He demanded.

She sighed tiredly and looked up at him, her expression calm.

“Harry, I wanted them to trust me, I needed them to understand that I wouldn’t hurt them and that I wasn’t a threat. An Unbreakable Vow is a dangerous form of magic, yet it allows me to keep my word.”

“It was stupid!” He snapped.

“It probably was,” she agreed. “They may have believed me eventually but I didn’t want to take that risk.”

The pack already knew she wouldn’t hurt them and seeing Harry’s reaction to what she’d done, they knew she was telling the truth regarding the terms and consequences.

Jacob speared his father with a look, conveying that Hermione was as trustworthy as they came and she was an unofficial member of the pack. She was different, just like them.

She was one of them.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 8

**Saturday 24th June 2006**

"I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?" Said Seth as he stood outside of Hermione's tent, holding her hands in his whilst he looked down at her and her up at him.

"Please, be careful, I know that what you're doing is dangerous but don't take any unnecessary risks, they get you killed," she spoke and her voice hitched slightly, her eyes holding back the tears that threatened to escape. "I haven't been this afraid since the war," she confessed in a whisper.

"You have nothing to be afraid of, I'm not going anywhere and I'll be back before you know it." He cupped her cheek with his hand and she leaned into his touch, her eyes refusing to leave his.

"I swear to Merlin _and_ the Founders, if you come back injured, I'll find a way to resurrect anyone responsible and I'll kill them myself." He chuckled at her. "I'm not joking, I am being completely serious."

"I know you are, but the thought of you being able to hurt anyone is strange to me," he shrugged one shoulder.

"I've hurt people before, I've taken lives," she mumbled.

"Yes, but that was a life or death situation and it wasn't your fault that you were stronger than your opponent. What happened, happened and you can't change that."

"I have something for you," she told him, removing her hand from his and digging into her pocket until she pulled out a leather band necklace with a galleon for a pendant and she placed it in his hand.

"What's this for?" He asked, holding up the necklace in his line of sight, his head tilting slightly as he examined it closely.

"I've been working on it for a while now," she confessed, nibbling at her lip nervously. "I wanted a way for us to be able to contact with each other without any interference. Harry and I are able to remain in contact through a galleon, even though we're in different continents' it's how he knows when I need help or when I've captured another Death Eater. This galleon will allow both of us to speak to each other, no matter where we are and nothing can interfere with it, I've made sure of it."

He looked at her both amazed and awed. "How does it work?"

"A complicated bit of magic. I was working on something similar when I got the idea for this necklace, beforehand it took me five months to perfect the charms and when I started on the necklace, it took me two weeks to cast the charms over the galleon since they had to be done perfectly and they had to be precise, a slight mistake would either damage the whole thing or explode in my face. I put the finishing touches on it last night." She smiled at him. "I guess you could say that it's similar to the mind link you share with your packmates. For Harry and I, we have to use our wands to send messages to each other through the galleon, but since you don't have a wand as you're not a wizard, I had to get a bit more creative and alter the Protean Charm. Rather than using a wand, we will use our minds. If you want to contact me for any reason all you have to do is hold the galleon and think it and your thoughts will transfer to me. When your galleon heats up and vibrates, that means that I've responded and you take a hold of the galleon to listen to my reply."

"That's amazing," he whispered, giving his head a light shake but he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Whilst he was new to magic, he'd come to learn that Hermione's mind was brilliant and there wasn't a lot she couldn't do if she put her mind to it.

"I've also added a Locator Charm to the galleon so that if needs be, I'm able to find you. You mentioned that one of the vampires has the ability to read thoughts?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "No one has a private thought when he's nearby, the pack _hates_ it."

"I understand why," she said softly. "For that reason, I've placed a mental block on the galleon so that any outside party that tries to enter your mind won't be able to unless you allow it."

"Will it work on the mind link?"

"I'm unsure, I don't have an inner understanding of how the mind link works and therefore, I can't create or alter a charm to block your thoughts from each other when you're in your wolf form, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, what you've done is amazing, Sam will be overjoyed that my mind is secure from outsiders. They don't want anyone to know about you, not only to protect you for my sake and to keep your identity a secret so we comply with the Statute of Secrecy, but to also keep anyone unaware that we have someone as powerful as you as an ally."

She smiled at him. "I added one last element."

"And that is?"

"I've carved ancient runes onto the back of the galleon and I've fed some of my magic into them. Ancient Runes are essentially symbols that are said to hold great power, particularly if you channel your magic through them. I've carved the runes for courage, victory, luck, strength, energy, power, spirit and warrior. These will hopefully give you some form of magical protection, even when I'm not there. It's just something else to keep you safe."

"Thank you," he said softly and she knew he meant it, that he truly valued all of the hard work and thought she'd put into the gift.

"There is a catch though."

"There is?"

"Yes, if you were to put this necklace on, you will _never_ be able to take it off; for safety, I've placed a Permanent Sticking Charm so that the necklace will never fall off, get damaged or be pulled off. Nothing will be able to remove it, not even me."

He simply shrugged and slipped the necklace over his head and to his surprise, it shrunk until it fit perfectly and she replied with a smile and a shrug of her own. She pulled out her own necklace from beneath her t-shirt and showed it to him, it was identical but rather than having runes carved into it, there was a wolf and she laughed when he blinked in surprise.

"Sam's gonna be jealous that he doesn't have one of these to protect his thoughts from being read," he told her, his eyebrow arching when he saw the way her eyes lit up and her mouth curved into a secret smile.

"And what if I told you he could have, and so could the rest of your packmates?"

"I would think I was the luckiest man in the world to have such a beautiful, talented witch as his girlfriend."

She blushed at his words.

"Well, I didn't think it was fair to protect your mind from outside parties and not the others, so I made each of your packmates a necklace as well, only they're different from ours."

"How so?"

"Yours and mine are specifically connected to one another, allowing us to communicate back and forth without issue. Theirs aren't connected to mine nor are they to each other. Theirs will only have the ability to block their thoughts from outside influences and I have once again, carved the runes on the back to give them a little more protection, I haven't placed a Permanent Sticking Charm on them as I thought it might make some of them uneasy."

"You, Miss. Granger, are the kindest, most thoughtful person I've ever met," he said fondly, wrapping his arms around her to pull her into a hug and she went willingly, wrapping her arms around him in return.

"I'm not," she disagreed. "I have a vengeful streak and there are people far kinder than me in the world, in _both_ worlds." He shook his head at her. "I love you," she said with no hesitation and her voice was clear and strong.

His heart skipped a beat, his head went fuzzy and everything inside of him squirmed at her words.

"I love you, too," he replied softly, squeezing her tighter. She sighed and stood on her tiptoes to press her forehead against his shoulder.

She pulled back and gave him a soft, chaste kiss that was filled with so much emotion, so much tenderness and love, Seth thought he'd died and gone to heaven.

"I'll take you to the meeting point so I can give the others their necklaces," she stepped back from him. "Okay, think of the place, picture it in your mind as clear as day and then send it to me," she instructed.

She saw a frown of concentration pull at his brow and he reached up and gripped the galleon in his hand. Hermione felt her own vibrate and it began to heat up and when she touched it, a clear image formed in her mind and she smiled.

 _'It worked; it's come through,'_ she thought.

Seth startled in surprise and then replied and she could see the smile on his face and hear it in his thoughts. _'I'm not used to anyone conversing with me through thoughts in my human form, it's strange.'_

She laughed out loud and he grinned.

"Okay, you know the drill," she said to him, pulling her wand and taking his hand, spinning on her heel and apparating to the meeting point.

~000~000~000~

They landed with 'cracks' at the meeting place in the woods, and everyone startled in surprise.

"Son of a..." Paul halted when he saw the glare Hermione sent his way and the others sniggered until she turned her glare on them and they quieted. Leah rolled her eyes as she leaned against the tree. "Sorry, you just startled me," he corrected and she snorted.

"You okay?" Hermione asked, as Seth was bent over with his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths and she rubbed her hand over his back.

"Yeah," he grumbled, "I thought you said it got easier the more you did it."

She shrugged. "It does, for some reason it's taking you longer than most." The others sniggered again as he playfully scowled at her and then stood to full height.

"Not that we're not happy to see you, but _what_ are you doing here?" Jared asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I'm not staying and I won't be interfering as I promised, I just have something to give you all."

"What?" Collin asked her, looking excited and practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. Although he was taller than she was and he didn't look to be thirteen, his age was certainly obvious in his behaviour.

"I know that you're more than capable of dealing with a few vampires," she assured them and they all stood taller at her words, "And I know that you're evenly matched, but I don't like the thought of any of you being injured whilst there is something I can do to lessen the chance of it happening."

"What d'you mean?" Sam asked her, stepping forward.

She waved her wand and in front of each member of the pack, appeared a black leather band necklace with a galleon, floating in front of their faces.

"What are these?" Jacob asked her, reaching up and taking his in his hand, scrutinising it.

"I've been working on a project for a while now and I came up with the idea of these necklaces. Seth's told me that one of the vampires has the ability to read your minds, whether you're in human form and wolf form."

"It's fucking annoying," Paul muttered and she scowled at his language whilst the others nodded in agreement.

"I've spent the last couple of weeks casting charms over these necklaces and they're finally finished. Once you put them on, they will protect your mind from any outside influences, including this vampire. The only way he will be able to read your thoughts is if you allow him to, otherwise, there will be a mental barrier in place that he won't be able to break through."

"That's amazing," Jared whispered.

Seth slipped his arm around her shoulders and looked at the others in pride whilst Jacob and Sam looked as if they wanted to hug her.

"It'll work?" Sam confirmed.

"I promise, it'll work, Harry visited not long back and we tested them. I'm a fairly decent Legilimens - the ability to force your way into other's thoughts, memories and emotions, and it a difficult skill to attempt, let alone master," she explained, seeing their confusion. "This necklace is basically an Occlumency shield, which is the ability to produce a mental barrier and keep it in place to fend off Legilimency. I wasn't able to break through the charm, even after an hour of non-stop trying. I pushed my magic to the limit and I almost fainted afterwards, that's how I know they're one hundred percent effective. The moment Harry lowered his shield, I was able to hear his thoughts. This will give you an advantage over the vampires, particularly the one that can read your thoughts."

They just stared at her, not knowing how to respond.

"Does this work for the mind link, too?" Embry asked her.

"I'm unsure, as I told Seth earlier, I have no inner understanding of how or why your mind link works and for that reason, I'm unable to create or alter a charm to block you off from each other. I have protected your minds from outside parties but not from each other," she said with a guilty smile.

"The fact that you've given us a way to keep Cullen out of our heads is remarkable," Sam commented, dismissing her worries.

"That's not all she did," Seth grinned, "Go on, tell them," he encouraged.

She cleared her throat, feeling uncomfortable at the way they were all staring at her expectantly.

"Well, I know you're more than capable of taking care of yourselves, as well as each other..."

"But?" Quil prompted, knowing there was something she wished to say.

"But you can never have too much protection. For that reason, I've carved a series of magical symbols on the back of each of the galleons and each symbol represents something different, luck, victory, courage, energy, spirit, warrior, strength and power. To make these symbols stronger and increase the chances of them protecting you, I've fed some of my magic into them and it was a tiring process. To put it mildly, you have more protection than you have ever had before and even though I'm not with you, you have my magic on your side." They stared open-mouthed, their eyes darting between her and their necklaces. "The ancient runes and mind block will only be effective if you're wearing the necklace, if it's removed or damaged, it won't work, so you'll have to be careful. I've placed an extra charm on them so that when you phase, you keep the necklace. I'm having a little more difficultly with your clothes during a phase, but I'm getting there and soon you won't be as naked as the day you were born."

"Is my girlfriend a genius or what?" Seth beamed proudly and she rolled her eyes at him.

"That's putting it mildly," Jared muttered, staring at her in awe.

"They only thing I have left to say is don't take any unnecessary risks, they're stupid and dangerous and they get you killed. Take it from me, I have more than enough experience in dealing with Harry, and he doesn't know the meaning of the words self-preservation or danger." They chuckled. "I'm not joking. Right then, I better go and leave you to your, whatever it is you guys call it. If you need me, Seth knows how to contact me. Good luck."

She kissed Seth on the cheek and then turned on her heel, leaving behind a 'crack' and several stunned pack members.

Seth grinned. "I know, she's awesome."

They snorted at him, before they each put the necklaces over their heads and he watched with a smile as none of them seemed hesitant, not even his sister.

"Whoa, that's awesome," Brady laughed as the necklace tightened around his neck to fit perfectly.

"She's thought of everything, hasn't she?" Sam said, but it was more of a thought to himself rather than to the rest of the pack.

"She did," Seth agreed, reaching up to grip the galleon.

 _'They love them,'_ he thought and he released the galleon.

When he felt it vibrate against his skin, he gripped it once more.

 _'I'm glad they do, be careful, I love you,'_ he grinned.

 _'Love you, too,'_ he replied and he released his grip on the galleon, just as his packmates began to phase.

It was time.

~000~000~000~

Hermione had been sat in her armchair, trying to read the same page for the last hour and in the end, she gave a frustrated growl and slammed the book shut, uncaring for the rarity and age of the book, something that should've horrified her but she couldn't find it in herself to care.

She stood and paced back and forth, back and forth, until she was sure she was well on her way to wearing a tread in the floor. After fifteen minutes of continuous pacing, she gave yet another frustrated growl and flopped onto the couch where her leg proceeded to bounce nervously and she chewed at her nails whilst simultaneously pulling at her hair, all nervous and worried habits she'd accumulated during the war.

She sighed and stood to her feet, she needed to distract herself and if books didn't work, maybe potions would. She had to have a clear mind, she had to be focused as one mistake in the recipe, one more stir necessary or one time-lapse could end in disaster. That's what she needed, the threat of injury or death to keep her mind occupied. _Just like old times_ , she thought wryly.

She stormed to her potions lab and with a flick of her wand she filled the only empty cauldron with water and set the flame underneath, whilst she checked on the Invigoration Draught that that was currently brewing, then the Polyjuice Potion before moving onto the Draught of the Living Death Potion which was brewing in the final cauldron.

She tied her hair back and out of her face as the heat in the room would surely make it frizzy and she didn't want it in her face or falling in her potions, ruining them. After that, she grabbed a simple white robe from the hook on the door and put them on to cover her clothes. Now that she was ready, she gathered the appropriate ingredients so she could make another batch of Calming Draught for Paul; he was going through it quicker than she thought possible but thought that was likely due to his metabolism burning off the potion a lot quicker than a regular human.

The water wasn't yet at the temperature that she needed and so she headed to the Invigoration Draught and she added two snake fangs, stirring the potion three times counter-clockwise before crushing up some mandrake root and adding it to the potion. After five counter-clockwise stirs and three clockwise stirs, she set the potion to simmer and in sixteen hours, she could add the final ingredient of bat spleen and then it had to cool and stand for a further twenty hours before it could be bottled.

She moved onto the Draught of Living Death Potion and seeing that it was the perfect lilac colour it needed to be at that stage in the brewing, she set it to simmer for thirty-six hours. It was a long and complicated potion and she wanted a challenge, she was barely halfway through the brewing of the potion and she had started it the day after she'd arrived at La Push. She moved onto the Polyjuice, checking the consistency of the concoction before adding a mint leaf in hopes it would somehow reduce the foulness of the taste, all of her trial and error had ruled out sugar cane, lemon zest and lime juice. But when she added the mint leaf she beamed, seeing the potion turned the muddy brown colour and thickened to more like gloop. She gave a couple of stirs and turned down the heat on the bubbling cauldron.

She left the potion and headed to the final cauldron and when she was satisfied that the water was the correct temperature, she prepared the ingredients and began concocting the potion for Paul.

She had lost track of time and when she felt her galleon heat up and vibrate against her skin, she visibly jumped in surprise and looked to the clock on the wall to see that she'd been engrossed in her task for just over an hour.

She gripped her galleon and prayed that Seth had good news.

 _'Hermione,'_ his voice sounded panicked and it put her on edge immediately. _'We need you, Jake's hurt pretty badly; a newborn's shattered every bone on the left side of his body.'_

Hermione's breath left her and she gripped the workbench to stop herself from falling over. She took a deep breath and pulled herself together. They'd asked for her help. They needed her.

She gripped her galleon. _'It'll take me a minute or two to locate your exact position, I'll be there in no more than five minutes, try to keep him still.'_

She didn't wait for his reply, rushing out of the room and summoning her beaded bag along with some more potions from her stores, just in case. She gripped her wand and cast the Locator Charm and the moment she found a lock on his location, she sent a message to Harry and then spun on her heel.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 12

**Saturday 24th June 2006**

The pack arrived at the clearing where the newborn army would soon be arriving and they stepped out of the cover of the trees, coming to a stop at a comfortable distance away from the vampires.

When they heard the pack approaching the entire coven turned to face them, stopping their muttered conversations and Bella turned towards them, too.

 _‘Time to put Hermione’s invention to the test,’_ Sam’s voice filtered through the mind link so everyone could hear.

The doctor took a step towards them. “Thank you for coming tonight and we appreciate that you kept your word in agreeing to help. Are we all clear on the plan?” He asked, turning to Edward for confirmation.

They all stood still, giving no indication of their thoughts and they noticed the way Edward’s eyes narrowed, looking each of them over for a few seconds at a time before they widened and he took a step surprised half step forward.

“How?” He muttered in surprise.

 _‘It’s official, Hermione’s brilliant,’_ Jared laughed through the mind link and they all shared not only a relieved laugh but an amused one too, enjoying the way the new development was affecting Edward.

 _‘I know,’_ Seth said proudly, and when he focused his attention, he could hear the quiet thought of relief coming from Leah and the respect she had for his imprint, once again, rose. If it kept going this way, Hermione and Leah may be able to be friends in the future. He knew it wasn’t Hermione’s fault, it was his sister, but she was beginning to trust his imprint and the thought made him happy.

“What is it, Edward?” Carlisle asked with his head tilted to the side slightly and a frown creasing his forehead.

“I can’t hear their thoughts,” he muttered, still staring at them with narrowed eyes.

“I’m sorry?” He replied in surprise.

“I can’t hear their thoughts,” he repeated.

“But that’s impossible, you could yesterday,” Rosalie said snappishly with narrowed eyes flickering between Edward and the pack.

“Well, I can’t hear their thoughts now, _any_ of them. It’s as if something’s blocking me, I can hear... Static, like when you change the radio station.”

“So what’s changed? There’s nothing that can block you,” Esme asked, looking just as worried as the rest of the coven whilst Bella looked utterly confused.

They all turned to Jasper and his eyes narrowed on the pack, too.

“Their emotions aren’t coming through as they were before, I can still feel them, only they’re less potent and far less so, it’s close to being unrecognisable.” Their worry seemed to grow at his words. “They all feel... Relieved, amused, amazed...” His eyes cut to Seth. “Whilst that one feels pride, wonder and... Love.”

They all turned their attention to him but he didn’t move under their accusatory gazes.

Sam suddenly growled, pulling their attention away from Seth and towards him, and he nodded before turning and heading back into the woods, the rest of the pack following after him.

“They should be arriving in less than an hour, prepare yourselves,” Carlisle’s voice called softly.

 _‘It seems that Hermione not only protected our thoughts but our emotions, too. Did you see the leech, he had a hard time trying to get a read on us,’_ Paul laughed gleefully.

 _‘Yeah, and Cullen looked_ furious _,_ ’ Jacob spoke in an uncharacteristically joyful tone, taking far too much pleasure in the circumstances.

 _‘Okay, everyone, take your positions, we don’t have long, Seth you know where you need to be.’_ Sam ordered, quieting everyone down.

After a few words of encouragement to each other, Seth left and headed to his post where he would be standing watch over Bella Swan along with Edward.

~000~000~000~

When he arrived, it was to see a tent set up and Bella and Edward were already there but when they saw him step out from the cover of the trees, they stopped their conversation, Bella headed inside the tent and Edward turned to him.

“Something’s happened between today and yesterday, I can’t hear your thoughts, any of your thoughts,” there was a tone of annoyance in his voice but also confusion.

Seth disappeared into the trees and reappeared in human form wearing only his customary jean shorts cut at the knees and Hermione’s necklace still remained around his neck, undamaged and somehow, he could feel a tingle coming from it. Not vibrating, like when she sent him a message, no, it was tingling lightly against his skin and he felt as though something was slowly, calmly washing over his entire body, making him more confident in himself and his abilities, making him feel protected and loved.

And then he came to realise that he felt the same tingling when he was around Hermione, when he held her hand or when he held her in her sleep. It must’ve been her magic of which she’d tied to the necklace. Yet another reason to love it; not only had she found a way to create something to protect his thoughts from Edward, to somehow give him a little more protection, to give him a way of communicating with her despite their distance apart and to show him her love, but she’d also given him a piece of herself, given him something important. She’d given him some of her magic, a part of herself which he would always have with him.

He forced down the beaming smile that was threatening to pull at his lips when he saw Edward, still stood and scrutinizing him.

“Why can’t I hear your thoughts or the rest of your packs’ for that matter?”

“I don’t know,” Seth shrugged, casually leaning against a tree and crossing his arms over his chest, forcing his heartbeat to remain calm as to not give it away that he was lying.

“You know something, Jasper all but confirmed it through your emotions, which he had difficulty determining. You’re immune to Alice and always have been, and now you’re suddenly immune to my gifts and almost immune to Jasper’s. What happened?”

“Seriously, I don’t know anything, maybe it’s an evolution thing. The same way my Tribe evolved into shape-shifters to protect our people. Maybe it’s a way to once again level the playing field between us, seeing as we can’t hear your thoughts, feel and manipulate your emotions, nor can we see possible outcomes of your future. We’re once again equal.”

“That doesn’t just happen overnight,” he snapped. Seth knew he was growing irritated as he started pacing, barely at human speed. “Jasper said you felt pride and love, why do you feel love when the rest of the pack don’t?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I’m a lot nicer than my packmates, I’m a lot more optimistic, maybe it’s my love for the bond between my pack he felt, seeing as we’re going into a dangerous situation and I’m worried something may go wrong.”

Edward’s eyes trained on his neck, narrowing on the necklace.

“What’s that?”

“A necklace,” he shrugged, looking bored.

“It has a strange pendent, where did you get it?”

“It was a gift, I’ve had it for years and found it the other day when cleaning my room,” he lied.

Edward made to move forward to better examine the pendent when he suddenly snapped his head in the opposite direction and Seth did the same, only just catching the sounds of the battle beginning.

Without speaking, Seth disappeared into the trees and changed into his wolf form and he hid in the cover of the trees, waiting and watching, still being able to feel Hermione’s magic surrounding him as if she was there next to him. He sighed, he missed her and he couldn’t wait to get back to her.

~000~000~000~

The plan had gone off without a hitch, well, except for their being _two_ vampires turning up rather than the expected one, but his appearance had worked wonders, surprising both the redhead and the poor guy that had been manipulated to the point that when Seth dragged him away into the trees by his shoulder, all he did was scream for the woman to save him and to love him. Out of pity, Seth gave him a quick death, well, technically it was a _death_ , wasn’t it?

When he heard the fire roar to life, he dragged the torn parts of the vampire out into the open and over to the fire, destroying it for good. He turned his head to see Edward tending to Bella’s forearm which she’d cut open with a rock to distract the crazy redhead long enough for Edward to get the upper hand.

_‘JAKE!’_

Seth’s head snapped towards the clearing when there was a sudden howl of agony and panicked shouts came through the mind link all at once, giving him a pounding headache. Seth looked to Edward and Bella who had both heard it as it echoed in the wind before he turned and took off through the trees.

He reached the clearing, panting and with a stitch beginning to form and he noticed that every member of the pack was surrounding Jacob in their human forms and with their nude forms covered with jean shorts. Collin and Brady were stood back, still in wolf form as the pack wanted to keep their identities a secret.

 _‘What happened?’_ He demanded quickly.

 _‘A newborn got its arms around Leah and tried to kill her, Jake stepped in and now he’s injured,’_ Brady answered.

 _‘Shit!’_ He thought and he quickly phased, pulling on his jean shorts and rushing to the crowd that surrounded Jacob, who was writhing around on the floor, still naked, and letting out cries and grunts of agony.

Carlisle was there examining him despite the pack not looking too pleased by it.

“Every bone on the left side of his body appears to be shattered,” he informed them. They turned to him when they noticed his presence. “Alice senses the Volturi coming, you’ll have to get him out of here and I’ll come by and start treatment when I’m done.”

“No,” Sam said lowly, his Alpha side coming to surface.

“You can’t take him to the hospital,” Carlisle responded softly. “I’m the only one that can help him.”

Sam ignored him, his eyes catching Seth’s and a silent conversation passed between them before his hand came up to grip at the coin around his neck. 

_‘Hermione, we need you, Jake’s hurt pretty badly; a newborn’s shattered every bone on the left side of his body.’_

He released the necklace and moments later she replied, his necklace heating up and buzzing.

 _‘It’ll take me a minute or two to locate your exact position, I’ll be there in no more than five minutes, try to keep him still.’_ Her calm voice helped to calm him.

“Is she coming?” Paul asked him, seeming to know what the exchange between Sam and Seth was; he didn’t know how Seth was able to contact Hermione but he suspected it had something to do with the necklace given the way he’d held it in his hand and a thoughtful expression had settled on his face.

“Is who coming?” Carlisle interrupted confused, but he was ignored once again.

“Yeah, she said she’ll be here in no more than five minutes, she wants us to keep him still,” Seth replied and as he spoke those words, every member of the pack got down onto their knees and carefully placed a hand on Jacob’s body, trying to keep still without hurting him any further.

“Hey, Jake,” Seth spoke, kneeling down at the side of his head and he grunted through his noises of agony, letting him know he was aware he was there. “Hermione’s coming and she’ll fix you up, she’ll be here any minute.”

“She’s a genius,” Jared piped up, looking worried but also knowing that if there was one person that could help Jacob, it was Hermione.

They heard a ‘crack’ and they all turned towards the trees expectantly, the Cullens looking confused and Bella and Edward arrived at that point, too. Bella gasped and made to move forward but Edward held her arm, stopping her from doing so when she found herself the recipient of several hateful glares.

“I’m here, I’m here!” Hermione’s voice called frantically as she darted out of the trees and towards them, her white robes billowing in the breeze, her curls free of their restraint and floating behind her, her cheeks flushed and they could hear her heart pounding in her chest and her heavy breathing.

Seth thought she looked beautiful, but then, she _always_ looked beautiful.

She reached them and dropped to her knees beside Jacob and they stayed close but moved back slightly to give her room.

“Talk to me,” she said in a no-nonsense tone, her kind and friendly features clouded with determination and concern.

“A newborn latched onto Leah, Jacob intervened and it somehow managed to get its arm around him. Every bone in the left side of his body is suspected to be shattered, we tried to keep him still like you wanted.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Hermione replied, gently placing her hands on either side of Jacob’s face and she lifted his head to rest it in her lap.

He continued to thrash in pain but his eyes opened and they locked onto her as she gave him a soft and comforting smile and spoke tenderly to him, completely ignoring the fact he was naked and pointedly keeping her eyes on his face.

“Alright, Jacob, I’ll have you patched up in no time,” she promised him and he somehow managed to nod. “I know that you must be in a terrible amount of pain but I need you to help me here, okay? I need you to try and be as still as possible so I can check the extent of the damage and then I’ll give you something for the pain.”

“Trust her, Jake, she’s amazing,” Paul piped up, absentmindedly rubbing at his side where he’d been stabbed, though there was no evidence of it, it having long since healed and without a scar.

“And you are?”

They turned to see that Carlisle was still crouched nearby, scrutinising Hermione and the others were, too, but they stood further back.

“You’re in my way,” she responded, a tad bit more snidely than she should’ve but the moment she saw him, she knew what he was and although Hermione loved all magical creatures and wanted equal rights for everyone, the one magical creature she was not fond of and disliked greatly were vampires. She didn’t trust them and she’d seen what they were capable of, it didn’t matter that this man had golden eyes. She didn’t trust him.

“He’s just trying to help him,” the pale girl with tears in her eyes snapped.

Hermione’s attention turned to her, her eyes narrowing in disgust at the way she clung to the vampire, the mind reader she assumed and she saw his eyes narrow on her, too.

“I assure you, I can do far more for Jacob than you or anyone else. You’re the reason he’s here in the first place...Yes, _Bella_ , I know exactly who you are and I’m going to put it out there now so there are no misunderstandings, I don’t like you.”

The strikingly beautiful blonde vampire snorted before a chuckle escaped.

“I like her,” she muttered but Hermione heard.

Jacob gave another noise of agony.

“Oh sorry, Jacob,” she said, her voice no longer cold and rude but kind and gentle. She reached into her pocket and drew her wand, tapping the tip against Jacob’s forehead, muttering under her breath and she took a deep breath before sighing in relief.

“Well, good news, Jacob, not _every_ bone is shattered, everything between your left clavicle and knee cap is, the rest is just broken. Your body’s already started the healing process and that’s dangerous as the bones won’t heal correctly.” She dug around in her robe pocket, pulling out her beaded bag and she thanked Merlin that the blonde man had moved to stand with his family and the others couldn’t see what she was doing as the pack was deliberately blocking their view.

She removed out a Pain Relief Potion and a Dreamless Sleep Potion.

“Jacob, do you trust me?” She asked him gently and to her surprise, he gave a grunt and nodded. “Okay, I’m going to have to stop the healing process and for that I’m going to have to use some of my special _skills_ , and I’ll give you something for the pain.” She tapped her wand to his forehead and muttered, “ _Immobulus_ ,” stopping his body from healing but she didn’t know how long it would last. “I want you to swallow all of it, it’s going to taste foul but you’ll feel a lot better than you do now.”

She pulled the stopper from the potion and slowly poured it into his mouth and he drank it all down, spluttering at the taste and after a few minutes, his body stopped thrashing and his breathing was heavy and laboured as he sagged against the ground.

“Would you like me to give you some more? You’re not supposed to have more than I administered but you’re special circumstances with your metabolism.”

He shook his head tiredly. “No,” his voice was hoarse, “I feel better, the pain’s more of an intense ache.”

She could see his eyes dropping, the shock and exhaustion of the situation taking its toll and finally sinking in now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

“Jacob, I’m going to give you something to put you to sleep, and once you are, I have one more trick up my sleeve to make sure you don’t move; I don’t want to risk jump starting the healing process again, nor do I want your injuries to become worse. After that, I’m just waiting to hear from Harry and then we’ll get you patched up and you’ll be back to ripping apart vampires before you know it.”

The pack gave a relieved chuckle and Sam clapped Seth on the shoulder as he stared at Hermione lovingly.

Hermione pulled the stopper from the Dreamless Sleep and poured it into his mouth, once again, he gagged and she chuckled at him. “You get used to it,” she promised and then his eyes closed. The last thing he saw was Hermione’s kind and comforting smile and the relieved smiles of his packmates. He fell into a deep, relaxing sleep.

“ _Petrificus Totalus_ ,” she whispered, making sure he couldn’t move in his sleep. She then pulled a blanket from her bag and with the help of the pack, had Jacob cocooned it in, more to protect his modesty than to keep him warm.

“Is that everything?” Sam asked her.

She nodded, absentmindedly running her fingers through Jacob’s hair, hoping that the gesture was comforting and that he could feel it in his sleep, knowing that he wasn’t alone and someone was there with him, taking care of him.

“I’ve numbed the pain as much as I can for now and he’s sleeping, he shouldn’t be able to feel anything. I removed the risk of him moving in his sleep and stopped the healing process for now. Once Harry contacts me, we’ll transport him to my place and he’ll be waiting there along with a Healer that will take care of Jacob. He’ll be back to his normal self before you know it.”

They all sighed and looked at her gratefully.

“Thank you,” he replied, and she knew he meant it.

She shrugged and smiled at him, “I told you, if you need anything all you have to do is let me know and I’ll help in any way I can.”

She heard whimpering and turned her head to see Collin and Brady, still in their wolf forms and looking worried and frightened. She smiled at them and beckoned them forward, they approached her slowly and she lifted her hands and ran her fingers through their fur, scratching behind their ears until their whimpers turned into purrs.

“Don’t you worry, my little pups; Jacob’s going to be just fine and whilst we wait for him to get better, I have another book to keep you occupied.” Their dark eyes lit up and she laughed at them. They laid down beside her, almost protectively, with their eyes narrowed on the Cullens.

“Who are you?”

Hermione turned her attention to the one that had asked, the mind reader, and she had to stop herself from laughing when she saw his frustrated expression.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” she replied, her voice once again taking on a chilly tone, which was noticed by both sides, surprising one and amusing the other.

“I want to see him,” Bella stepped forward, daring her to argue.

Well, she was in for a shock; Hermione Granger didn’t back down. She’d faced dark creatures, she’d come face to face with the Dark Lord himself, she had been tortured, threatened with rape, stalked, assaulted and bitten _twice_ by an Alpha werewolf. Bella Swan and her vampire protectors hardly compared. She was more afraid of Ginny Weasley’s temper.

“But you can see him from right there,” Hermione responded innocently, hearing sniggers from the pack. “Beside’s, he’s sleeping right now and even if he was awake, I doubt he’d want to see you.”

“Fine, I’ll wait for him at his house,” she snapped.

Hermione shrugged. “That’s great, he won’t be there and I doubt Billy Black would be glad to see you either, not after his only son was injured in trying to protect someone that not only broke his heart, but tore it out and ripped it to shreds. It seems to me you’re perfectly matched,” she nodded to the mind reader stood behind her, still with narrowed eyes. “I’m saying you’re as cold-hearted as they are.”

The stunning blonde released a light laugh. “I should hate you but you’re somewhat amusing,” she spoke, surprising not only the vampires but the pack as well and they all stared in disbelief.

“Thanks, I’ve heard a little about you too, Ice Queen,” Hermione responded, earning a smirk for her comment before she turned her attention back to a gobsmacked Bella. “Whether Jacob sees you or not is his choice and only his choice, but I won’t allow it to be on or anywhere near my property.”

She felt her galleon heat up and she dug into her pocket and pulled it out.

 _‘Tent with Healer,’_ it read.

 _‘ETA, 15 minutes,’_ Hermione replied.

“I’ve received word that Harry’s just arrived and he’s waiting for us with a Healer. I’m going to need some help with transportation.”

“What d’you want us to do?” Sam asked her.

“I’ll need at least three of you to come with me; I can’t transport him on my own with the condition he’s in.”

Sam nodded. “Paul, Embry, come with me. Jared, escort the rest of the pack to Hermione’s,” he ordered and they nodded in understanding.

“If you take Jacob into the woods, I’ll be there in just a moment; I need to prepare the transport.”

They nodded and between the three of them, Paul, Sam and Embry equally distributed his weight, being careful not to make his injuries worse, and they made their way to the trees.

“Pups, I’ll meet you there, okay?” She said softly, scratching them behind the ears once more and they purred before standing and with a warning look to the vampires, they turned and made their way towards the trees being followed by Jared, Leah and Quil.

Seth took Hermione’s hands and he helped her to her feet and completely forgetting they were being stared at by a coven of vampires, they grew lost in each other’s gazes.

“Are you okay? You’re not injured, are you?” She asked him, her voice sounding small and worried.

“I’m fine,” he promised, pulling her into a hug and she melted into him. “I may have broken a few fingers but they’re healed now.”

“What!” She shrieked, pulling back from him and taking his hands in hers, glaring down at them and looking for injuries.

He chuckled. “Hermione, I’m fine.”

“Who did it? Show me the pieces,” she demanded.

He snorted. “There’s nothing to worry about, broken fingers can heal in less than twenty minutes; I didn’t even feel it.”

“I told you that I’d find a way to resurrect anyone that hurt you, so I could kill them myself,” she scowled at him.

He chuckled, shaking his head lightly. “Well, he’s a pile of ash now,” he responded, pulling her into a hug and she grumbled but went willingly, snuggling into his warmth.

“You’re such a mom,” he commented amusedly.

“I am not!” She cried in outrage, drawing back from him and folding her arms over her chest. Being called a mother hen was one thing, being a called a _mother_ was an entirely different thing.

“Jacob, the pups, me, Paul, Jared...” he listed off on his fingers and her face turned down into a thoughtful frown.

“Oh, no, you’re right, I’m such a mum,” she cried in horror and he laughed loudly, pulling her back to him and placing butterfly kisses to her cheeks.

“Jake’s going to be fine, right?” He asked her, his head buried in her neck as she stood on her tiptoes, running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, lightly scratching her nails over his skin.

“He’s going to be perfectly fine, I won’t allow his injuries to worsen, hell will freeze over before I allow that,” she confirmed, and he sighed, nuzzling the side of her neck and she giggled as it tickled.

She suddenly pulled back from him.

“What is it?” He asked confused.

“I’ve just realised, I’ve got the entire pack coming to my place and I don’t have enough food in,” she replied, looking horrified. He snorted. “I’m being serious, between the both of us eating more than three meals a day and Paul stopping by regularly for food, my food stores are empty. And I’ve got Harry coming and he’ll likely be hungry, too” She dug into her beaded bag and pulled free some muggle cash and she held it to him. “Whilst I tend to Jacob and keep the rest of the pack from destroying my house whilst on a rampage looking for food...” He chuckled, “You can go and pick up some takeout, whatever you want. Do you have your car keys?”

“No,” he said sheepishly and she chuckled at him fondly.

“Take mine,” she dug into her bag and pulled them out, handing them to him.

“Have you left the car where you usually do?”

“Yes, you should be able to find it no problem,” she confirmed and then she reached up to kiss his cheek. “Love you,” she whispered.

His smile was blinding and he pulled her into a tight hug. “Love you, too,” he echoed, giving her a chaste kiss and then turning and walking in the opposite direction.

She ran her hand through her hair and sighed. “Well, it’s been an eventful day,” she muttered to herself before she turned her attention back to the vampires, all staring at her in various forms of disbelief, dislike, irritation and confusion. Her posture stiffened and her expression fell into a blank mask of calm.

“You’re so very lucky none of them were injured beyond repair. Jacob was brought into this because of _you_ ,” she looked to Bella, her eyes hard and cold, her voice cold, nothing like the caring and loving tone she’d used with Seth, nor the friendly and soft tone she’d used with the pack. “And the pack is loyal beyond belief, for that reason, they stuck by him, the _pups_ were brought into this.” Disgust melted into her words and her nose scrunched up slightly.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Bella demanded angrily.

Hermione simply arched an eyebrow, wondering if she was trying to be frightening or challenging when Hermione thought of her as neither.

“I am the only one that the pack trusts beside each other. I am the one that has been nothing but kind to them and understanding of their predicament and responsibilities, offering to help whenever I can, sometimes just helping because they’re too stubborn to ask for help. I was invited to the bonfire of the Tribe, not by Seth, or Jacob, or Sam, but by Billy Black himself. To put it mildly, I am an ally of the pack, and you do not want to make an enemy of me.”

She saw the second blonde vampire with wavy hair shift on his feet and his eyes were locked on her. She stood taller and her hand went to her pocket where she’d stored her wand; she’d known who he was the moment she’d laid eyes on him. She’d completed a study piece on him for her history of magic class before she’d graduated and she likely knew more about him than he did himself. She only wished Seth had told her the vampires’ names. She wouldn’t have allowed the pack to fight with them without her being present if she’d known.

“And I know exactly who you are, Jasper Whitlock,” she informed them, their eyes widening as they turned to look at Jasper who looked just as surprised by her declaration. “I know of your past, I know what you’re capable of and I know the fear you strike upon others. Let this be a warning to you, if any harm comes to any member of the pack, I will spend the rest of my natural-born life instilling the same fear onto all of you,” she promised, her eyes had darkened and turned cold, and if one were to look closely enough, you could see the memories of the war flashing through her eyes.

“You feel love for Seth, protectiveness for the pack, dislike for Bella, and dislike, bordering on hatred for us,” Jasper commented knowingly, seeming to gloss over her previous words.

“Yes, I love Seth with everything I have in me and everything I don’t. I have suffered in ways most wouldn’t even know existed, and I was drowning in a pit of despair and depression, debating whether or not I wanted to continue living, and then Seth came into my life. He changed everything for me, he’s making me see the world from a different viewpoint. I am protective of the pack because they have been nothing but kind to me, and I know how much Seth loves them and them him, so I protect them. I don’t like you, your kind more specifically. I have come into contact with over a hundred vampires and not one of them spared a thought for their victims. I’ve seen the damage you can do and I’ve had to clean it up. I’ve had to watch as a mother cried at her thirteen-year-old son’s funeral, even though there was no body to be buried and I had to help clean up the mess that was left. I had to watch as someone I knew was bitten by a vampire, and she begged everyone around her to kill her so she wasn’t subjected to the life of the undead. I held her hand and I watched her cry due to pain and sadness that she would be leaving behind her single father and two younger brothers. She died, staring at me and with such a tight grip on my hand, she broke my fingers.”

Their eyes darted between one another and her, unable to mask their surprise at her revelations. 

“I don’t like Bella because she’s a bloody idiot,” Hermione couldn’t help the hiss of resentment that came from her. “Throwing her life away, choosing to live a life of walking in the shadows... So you get immortality, big-fucking-whoopie-do. Immortality isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I met a man who believed himself to be immortal and he was a dictator. He turned me into something I never wanted to be, but I didn’t have a choice, I did what needed to be done. You see, Jasper Whitlock, like you, I was turned into a soldier, I was brought into a war I had no business being in at that age. And you know more than anyone how that shit fucks you up. You know just how dangerous we are. I assure you, I’m human, but I am the most dangerous person you will ever meet. I swore I would never take another life but you’re already dead,” she finished, not waiting for a response as she spun on her heel and walked to the trees, selecting a stick from the ground and turning it into an illegal port-key; she would deal with the consequences later.

“You can be frightening when you want to be,” Paul commented, a slight hint of pride and fright in his tone.

“I meant every word of what I said. I told you of my past but I didn’t tell you _everything_ that happened during those seven years of my life,” she responded quietly. She cleared her throat. “Right, take a hold of this, and I’m going to warn you, it’s not going to be a soft landing and you’ll likely land flat on your face as you’ve never done this before. What I need you to do is try to break Jacob’s fall in case I lose control of him. This will feel a little strange, as if you’ve been swept up by a tornado and you’re caught in the centre.” Hermione pointed her wand at Jacob and muttered under her breath and he levitated off the floor. “On the count of three, I want you to grab onto this stick and don’t let go until I tell you to. One, two, three...”

They all grabbed onto it and each gave a noise of surprise and fright when they were whisked off their feet, spinning and spinning and spinning.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 11

**Saturday 24th June 2006**

“Let go!” Hermione called and they did as she asked, yelling profanities and screaming as they fell to their inevitable death and then they hit the ground, with ‘oomphs’, landing on their backs.

They groaned and looked up to see Hermione practically walking in thin air, slowly floating down to the ground but she looked to be struggling with Jacob who was bobbing about. They caught him just as the spell broke, five feet from the ground.

“Good catch boys,” she said, wiping at her forehead, turning and heading towards the tent which came into view and Embry and Sam gawked and gave noises of surprise as they entered the tent for the first time. “Paul, spare bedroom,” Hermione instructed, heading in the direction and he nodded knowingly, causing Embry and Sam to share a look of confusion.

They entered the room to see Harry pacing back on forth, wearing odd shoes, a pair of old flannel bottoms and a t-shirt whilst a no-nonsense Healer stood to the side, rifling through various potions that had been set up on the table.

“Hermione, thank Merlin,” Harry all but shouted and he rushed to her and hugged her whilst Jacob was placed in the centre of the mattress.

“I’m fine, Harry,” she promised, “Thank you for coming so quickly, I know it’s daft o’clock back in England.”

He chuckled at her, running his hand through his bed hair.

“Miss. Granger, I’m Healer Nichols,” she shook Hermione’s hand before turning towards Jacob, knowing he was her patient. “What are we dealing with?”

“A newborn vampire got their arms around him and has shattered every bone between his left clavicle and knee cap; the rest of his bones on his left side are broken, and he may have a few broken bones on his right side, I didn’t check since I was focused on the more severe injuries.”

“How is he still alive?” She questioned in surprise.

“He’s a shape-shifter with accelerated healing abilities, I arrived not ten minutes after the incident and his body was already healing, I had to immobilise him, put him to sleep _and_ petrify him in order to stop it. He’s also physically the strongest member of the shape-shifting pack which I suspect aided in his survival.”

“Incredible,” she muttered, pulling out her wand. “Is one of you the leader of your pack?”

“I am,” Sam stepped forward and her eyes widened, as she took in his huge, muscled and half-dressed form.

“Yes, well then,” she cleared her throat, “I can’t see any reason why I can’t heal him. Just how accelerated is your healing?”

“A cut can heal within minutes, broken fingers and toes no more than twenty, broken arms and legs, anywhere between a few hours or a day or two depending on the severity of the break,” Sam answered and her eyes widened further.

“Well, judging by what you say your healing is capable of, coupled with what I know magical healing is capable of, your friend here should be fully healed in no more than a week. The problem we face is his healing abilities. If your bones are able to heal breaks like you say they are, I may have to keep re-breaking the bones until they heal in the correct position.”

“The _Immobulus_ is likely wearing off now, if not, has already. It would probably be easier to remove the shattered bones and re-grow them entirely with Skele-Gro, and his body can do the rest.”

“Just what I was thinking, Miss. Granger, well done,” the Healer praised with a nod. “Right then, I suppose we better get started, we don’t want this young man to be in pain, now do we? Clear the room please, Miss. Granger, would you mind staying?”

Hermione nodded and Harry led the three pack members out of the room and into the living room.

Harry gave a yawn, trying to stifle it but failing. “Make yourselves at home; Hermione would kill me if I didn’t say that to you. I’ll be right back, I promised to keep my girlfriend informed,” he said before leaving the tent without waiting for a reply.

Sam and Embry looked around in intrigue whilst Paul went to the kitchen, removed a glass from the cupboard and took the orange juice out of the cupboard where he knew Hermione kept it. After pouring himself a measure, he put it back and then crossed over to them, comfortably plopping into the armchair.

“How d’you know where she keeps her things?” Sam asked, eyeing him with a scary look in his eyes.

Paul shrugged. “I’ve been here before,” he said simply.

“How d’you know where her spare bedroom is?” Embry asked.

“I’ve stayed here before,” he replied, his eyes watching for their reactions.

“Why?”

“Because I have,” he said vaguely.

“If there’s anything going on...”

Paul cut Sam off with a growl, shocking those in the room, including himself.

Paul sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “There’s _nothing_ going on between us, like I told everyone else, she’s made it perfectly clear that I’ve been friend-zoned and she loves Seth. She would never cheat on him, especially with me. She’s helping me to control my anger, and at first, I thought she was crazy, but I don’t feel angry all the time like I did before and it’s because of her.”

“Again, _why_ have you stayed here before and _how_ do you know your way around her kitchen?” Sam asked.

Paul made a frustrated noise and ran his hand over his face, knowing he’d have to tell the truth, something he’d wanted to keep between him, Hermione and Seth.

“Look, the night Hermione came for me whilst we were waiting for the leeches to arrive, it wasn’t because she needed my help with one of her projects; it was because _she_ was helping _me_. I didn’t have food poisoning; Hermione forged the note as my doctor so the school wouldn’t suspend me for truanting.”

“So why would she forge a note if there was nothing wrong with you?” Embry frowned in confusion.

“I didn’t say there wasn’t anything wrong with me, just that I didn’t have food poisoning,” he muttered, tugging a large swig from the glass in his hand, reminding himself not to squeeze it too hard or it’d shatter.

“Then what was wrong with you?” Sam asked, his eyes narrowed on him and daring him to lie.

“I was walking down First Beach when I was ambushed; I never saw it coming and I was distracted so I didn’t hear anything either. I was stabbed and left to die, I couldn’t phase due to shock and I somehow managed to find my way here. I woke Hermione and she healed me, there was still part of the knife embedded in my side. She made me stay the night as she wanted to keep an eye on me, she wouldn’t listen when I told her of our healing capabilities and she did make a valid point about healing times. I wasn’t at school ‘cause I didn’t wake till lunch and by then, she’d already sent a note to school with Seth. She gave me something to help with the pain and to help with my muscle re-growth and I felt fine later that night.”

“Why did this happen? Why didn’t you tell us? Who was responsible?”

Paul blinked in surprise as Sam’s Alpha voice made an appearance and he appeared to have fisted his hands tightly in anger.

“I’m not sure who they were exactly, but I do know they were the boyfriends of some of the girls I’ve slept with but they led me to believe they were single. I didn’t know about the boyfriends,” he shrugged. “I didn’t tell you ‘cause I didn’t want to. Everything’s public knowledge with us and I didn’t want the pack to know what’d happened. Hermione made Seth promise not to reveal anything; he’s kept my secret.”

“Why did Hermione come for you?” Embry asked him.

“It turns out Hermione called in a favour with that friend of hers, that Kingsley guy. Whilst I was still asleep she’d gone back to England. When she came for me, she took me to the police station and there was a line up waiting for me, I don’t know how but those friends of hers managed to track down the guys that attacked me and they had substantial evidence, too, they just wanted my confirmation that it was. It’s been kept out of the news but all three of them have been sentenced to jail time and they had to undergo a psych evaluation.” They stared at him in surprise. “The night it happened, I wouldn’t tell her anything about the guys responsible and I’ve no idea how she managed to find them, I told her to leave it alone but she wouldn’t listen. She all but shouted they were dangerous and if I hadn’t have been a shifter, I would’ve died and it would’ve been a murder case. She didn’t want them walking down the street with how dangerous and unhinged they were.”

“Oh My God!”

The three shifters lifted their eyes to see that the rest of the pack had arrived but they weren’t looking around the tent, they were staring at _him_. They’d been so focused on their conversation they hadn’t heard them arrive.

Paul growled under his breath. “How much did you hear?”

“All of it,” Jared replied, staring at him with a frown. Why hadn’t Paul told him? They’d been best friends since they were kids.

“Great, now the whole gang knows,” he muttered unhappily, flopping his head back and he sighed. “I need a drink,” he rubbed his hand over his face. “Hermione!” He called, raising his voice so she could hear.

“WHAT?” She called back, her voice carrying down the corridor. She knew he would be able to hear even if she had spoken quietly, but it was a habit as she wasn’t used to being around shape-shifting wolves with sensitive hearing.

“Do you have any of that fire-stuff?”

“No, I ran out, I’ll get some more when I next have the chance! Now leave me alone, I’m busy!”

Paul snorted in amusement before turning his attention back to everyone else, who still looked surprised but slightly amused by their interaction.

“And don’t mention my father to Hermione,” he warned.

They all tensed at the mention of him.

“Why not?” Quil asked, a low growl coming from his throat at the thought of the elder Lahote.

“I don’t think she’d let him live if she found out,” he spoke honestly.

“And that’s the best-case scenario,” Seth injected as he entered with several large pizza boxes balanced in his hands. “She’d see death as too light of a punishment; I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d pull a few strings and have him thrown in their magical prison which is guarded by soul-sucking creatures.”

“Why are we talking about soul-sucking creatures?” Hermione’s voice flittered through the room that plunged into silence as she entered. “What?” She asked, seeing they were all staring at her, slightly awed and slightly fearful.

“We’re talking about newborn vampires,” Seth spoke from the kitchen, giving her an innocent smile.

She hummed disbelievingly before she turned towards the Healer that stepped out from behind her.

“I’m confident in saying that you are more than capable of handling this situation yourself, Miss. Granger, but if you do require any help, you know where I am. And I dare say, you’d make a remarkable Healer, just something for you to think about as a future prospect.”

“Thank you, Healer Nichols,” she smiled, “And please be discreet about my whereabouts.”

She snorted. “Don’t be silly, Miss. Granger, your location will remain a secret. We wouldn’t want Mr. Weasley knowing where to find you, now would we?” She then smiled at Hermione and nodded to the pack and she headed for the exit. “By the way, Miss. Granger, you’re too good for him,” she halted in her steps and turned back around to wink, making Hermione give her a small smile.

“Before I forget,” Hermione interrupted, walking to the kitchen and rifling through one of the drawers, pulling out a pouch of galleons and throwing them across the room and Healer Nichols caught them. “Thank you for coming so quickly, Harry informed me that you were on your honeymoon.”

The Healer simply shrugged. “It’s not often I get to meet someone with famed achievements and intelligence such as yours, and if the great Hermione Granger needs help, then how can you turn down the opportunity to meet such a person.”

“I’m no one special,” Hermione ducked her head and blushed. She felt Seth sidle up behind her and he wrapped his arms around her as she leaned into him.

“You are to me,” he mumbled quietly, placing a kiss to her cheek and her blush darkened.

The Healer smiled at her knowingly. “You certainly have done far better than Mr. Weasley,” she commented. Hermione snorted, that was an understatement. “Does he treat you right?”

Seth looked outraged at the thought of treating her as anything but a princess, and shocked that the woman had asked the question whilst he was stood there, cuddling his imprint.

“Better than I deserve, Harry approves,” Hermione answered with a small smile, looking over her shoulder and up at Seth. He grinned at the information she’d divulged regarding her pseudo-brother, knowing how protective he was of her and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why do you dislike Ronald so much?” Hermione asked, turning her attention back to the woman.

“Aside from the fact of how he treated you?” She arched an eyebrow. “I have had the displeasure of Mr. Weasley being a patient of mine during his Auror training.”

Hermione nodded in understanding, needing no more explanation than that. “Lovely fellow, isn’t he?”

“Delightful,” she laughed before she took her leave, just as Harry made a reappearance.

“Who’s delightful?” Harry asked, looking more awake than he had before.

“Ronald,” Hermione answered.

Harry blinked before laughter burst from him. “Ron’s about as delightful as one of Hagrid’s blast-ended skrewts,” he spoke through his laughter and she winced in memory.

“A what?” Seth asked confused.

“You don’t want to know.” Something in her voice told him he didn’t. “Are you talking to him yet?”

Harry sobered immediately, a look of disgust settling over his face.

“No, I’m not going to, not only did he hurt you, he broke his promise to me.”

She sighed. “Harry, you don’t have to stop being friends with him because he’s an arsehole. He cheated on me and we broke up. I don’t want you to be stuck in the middle.”

“Hermione, I’ve taken his side one too many times and I saw what it did to you, I won’t make that mistake again. You’ve been a better friend to me than Ron ever has, even after I was a prat to you.”

She shrugged. “You had a lot of pressure on you so I never took anything you said or did personally.”

“I’m not giving in to him; my life’s surprisingly a lot easier when he’s not around.”

She shook her head before saying, “Thank you for coming, Harry, you should probably head home, judging by the time difference, you have work in an hour.”

“Alright, bossy witch,” he said fondly and she rolled her eyes at him, stepping out of Seth’s arms to walk over to him and hugging him tightly.

“Ginny wants to know when you’re going to visit again, she misses you and she’s sorry for how Ron acted at her graduation party.”

“It’s not Ginny’s fault Ronald’s an arsehole,” she snorted.

“The twins miss you, too,” he said.

“The twins better be in full body armour when I next visit them,” she scowled.

Seth chuckled, knowing exactly what they’d done to her, though he wasn’t going to complain about what happened when she got back from England. The rest of the pack sniggered, too, understanding the turn the conversation had taken, especially after seeing Seth that night. Harry’s mouth quirked, knowing _exactly_ what had happened to her cup of tea.

“Trust me, Hermione, every time a brunette walks through the door they get this look of terror on their face,” he said amusedly and she sniggered. “Oh, and they’ve doubled their attacks on Ron since the party, not to mention, they’ve got pranks planned for Lav-Lav, they’re holding back until after the baby’s born but then they’re going to make her life hell.”

“Wonderful,” Hermione rolled her eyes. “More reason for them to hate me.”

“It’s not your fault; no one can control the twins and their actions and you should know they have plans going as far as two years from now.” Hermione sighed and Harry chuckled. “Not to mention, Charlie threatened to feed him to his dragons, Bill’s wolf side came out a little and he threatened to eat him alive, whilst Ginny screamed the house down like a banshee.”

She laughed, shaking her head fondly; she missed her friends.

“I’ll see you later,” she hugged him once more and he nodded to the rest of the pack, who did so in return and he made his way to the tent door. “You better eat breakfast when you get back,” she warned.

“Alright, bossy, I will.”

“You better!”

“I will, promise,” he said, looking over his shoulder amusedly and then he left out of the tent.

“By the way, I may have used an illegal port-key to...”

“I’ll take care of it!” He called back and then he was gone.

She smiled before turning around, seeing that everyone was staring at her in various amounts of amusement and disbelief. She shrugged in reply before snagging a slice of pizza before the others got to it, and then she used her wand to conjure several chairs so there was enough seating for everyone.

Seth moved the pizzas over to the coffee table which Hermione enlarged for him and she summoned different beverages from the kitchen before they all set to eating.

“What did the doctor say?” Sam asked.

She leaned her head against Seth’s shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her.

“Jacob will be fine in about a week’s time. Until then, he’s on bed rest and he _will_ stay there even if I have to use magic to do so. He’s under my care now, Healer Nichols and I have discussed the best option suitable for Jacob. I’ll have to check on him periodically to make sure his bones are healing in the correct manner of position. If not, I’ll be forced to re-break the bones and set it in a way that will allow it to heal nicely. Since I’ll be using my healing spells and potions, it’ll be far less painful for Jacob than it would be using muggle medicine. He’ll likely be groggy and grumpy for a little while but he’s not leaving that bed until I say he can.”

They snorted at her.

“She knows what she’s doing,” Paul muttered. Hermione’s gaze connected with his and she gave him a soft and understanding look.

“Is anyone else injured?” She asked, looking relieved when they all confirmed they were fine. “What happened to Jacob’s necklace?”

“It was torn off during the fight,” Quil answered. “Is that why he’s injured, because he lost it?”

“Not necessarily,” she shook her head, “The necklace isn’t able to protect you from everything but it is able to lessen the risk of you getting injured. If Jacob had still had the necklace on, he would’ve likely still been injured but to nowhere near the extent he is now, as my magic would’ve activated at the sense of danger and it would’ve protected him.” A crease appeared on her forehead. “I may have to go back to the drawing board and create something more powerful, something that’s able to protect you even if you lose it. Maybe I can create a mechanism that will release a surge of magical power that will force your opponent to be thrown away from you.” She rubbed her eyes as exhaustion was beginning to set in, it’d been a long day and it was well after midnight. “Merlin, that’s going to be a lot of work and a lot of magic infusion to carry out,” she sighed.

“You’ve done more than enough, Hermione,” Seth spoke softly. “I don’t want you burning yourself out ‘cause you’re focused on finding a way to keep us safe when we come across a vampire. You still have your own research to do, as well as capturing Death Eaters.”

“There’s been a few more captured,” she yawned. “Klaus Montague was caught hiding in Russia and Reginald Burke was found in the Scottish Mountains, not far from Hogwarts which was worrying. They’ve both been sentenced to life in Azkaban, after they’re done recovering from the injuries they received from their duels whilst being captured, that is. That drops up down to nine. Well, the remaining nine Death Eaters are high rankers and the most dangerous, the others aren’t on our radar and there’s always going to be someone that wants a Pureblood Utopia, but once these last Death Eaters are taken care of, no one would dare to voice their opinions or do anything about it. So as far as everyone’s concerned, the world’s a safe place again,” she yawned once more. “Does Jacob’s father know what’s happened?”

Jared nodded. “We made a detour before coming here, we’ll tell him the news on his condition when we leave but we made sure he knew he was safe here.”

“He is,” she confirmed. “I’ve got Muggle Repellent Charms surrounding the tent in a two mile radius, as well as Caterwauling Charms, so if anyone approaches that shouldn’t be here, I’ll know about it, and if I end up being found whilst he’s still here, I’ll make sure he’s protected. I’ll place the strongest wards I know around the room in the morning, just to be sure. His father will want to visit,” she said knowingly, “It’ll be a little difficult getting him here, for obvious reasons his wheelchair can’t be pushed through the woods and I’ve never tried to apparate a muggle, so I don’t know the effects that’ll have, plus, I’ll have to make him immune to my defences, bloody hell, that’s going to be fun!” She grumbled and rubbed at her temples with her fingers, already feeling a headache forming. “I’ll collect him around lunch tomorrow, that’ll give me plenty of time to check on Jacob and hopefully I can keep him awake long enough so his father can visit.” She yawned again.

“You’re tired,” Seth stated with a frown. She shook her head through her another yawn.

“Nope, I’m wide awake,” she protested and they sniggered. Her eyes caught the clock on the wall and they widened. “Oh, Merlin’s Balls,” she cursed, jumping up from the couch and darting out of the room.

Each member of the pack looked at her amusedly before they stood and silently followed her down the corridor.

“Oh, no, no, no,” she cried, pushing open the door and running into her potions lab, seeing the smoke coming from one of the cauldrons as the concoction was on fire, the cauldron vibrating dangerously to the point that it moved across the table and was about to topple to the floor.

She pulled her wand, shooting an _Immobulus_ at it and it rooted to the spot, though still shaking with the hot concoction looking as though it was going to erupt. Like an angry volcano it spat liquid out, it landing on the floor and sizzling and burning the bench underneath it. She sent a spell at the cauldron to stabilize the potion before hitting it with a Freezing Charm, essentially putting out the fire that licked at the bottom of the cauldron. With one last wave of her wand, the Ventilation Charms on the room activated and the smoke was gone within seconds.

“Bloody hell, I’ve spent ages on the PolyJuice,” she grumbled, moving over to the bench and being careful not to touch the still hot cauldron. She prodded at the strange frozen-gloop with the tip of her wand, scowling at it.

“ _What_ is this place?”

She looked up, noticing that the others had followed and they were pants at hiding their amusement, though she didn’t think they were even trying.

They looked about the room curiously, Collin and Brady looking as though they wanted to explore and touch everything in sight. Jared and Seth each took a hold of the back of their t-shirts to prevent them from doing so, obviously seeing the same thing she had.

“This is my potions lab.”

“I can’t actually believe you use cauldrons,” Paul laughed.

“What else would I use?” She tipped her head with a crease to her brow. “Plastic and glass would either melt or explode under the high temperatures I need to brew my potions and rubber is not a viable option for many reasons. Cauldrons are made specifically for brewing potions and they can be purchased in different sizes and metals, each with their own merits and downfalls. You have to replace them regularly as even with the magic used to create them, the potions that are constantly being brewed and the heat eventually wears down the metal, warping it, which can ruin your potions and it’s dangerous as it can cause explosions. If you’d like, I could ask Percy Weasley to visit, he’d bore you to death on the ideal thickness for cauldrons, not to mention parchment, quill feathers and anything else he finds interesting.”

“No, thanks,” Seth chuckled at her.

“What were you making?” Sam asked her and she was surprised to see that he generally looked intrigued to hear the answer.

“Well, this was _supposed_ to be PolyJuice Potion,” she prodded the strange concoction once again and it gave a sound of someone farting and the others sniggered and she rolled her eyes. “Polyjuice allows you to take on the identity of someone else for exactly one hour, it essentially makes you a perfect clone down to height and weight, though your voice stays the same. It’s a good tool for disguise and it comes in handy, tastes foul though,” she grimaced. “In the words of Mad-Eye Moody, it tastes like goblin piss, I don’t know how he knew that and I don’t really care to know,” she grimaced again. “This has set me back.”

“Why? Just make another one?” Quil shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“I wish it were that easy,” she replied, vanishing the disgusting gloop and then she levitated the now empty cauldron over to the washing station. She then decided to check on the Calming Draught and hoped it hadn’t been ruined since she’d been called away.

“There are thousands of potions and no two are similar for ingredients required and the recipe and instructions that need to be followed. Some potions can take ten minutes to brew, some can take up to six months. PolyJuice, in particular, takes a month to brew and that’s not including the length of time needed to prepare the ingredients, such as lacewing fly, which has to be stewed for twenty-one days _before_ you can add it to the potion. And some of the ingredients themselves are either expensive, rare or not in season and can only be collected at a certain time of the year, like fluxweed which can only be collected during the full moon, and seeing as the full moon is accompanied by werewolves and it’s hard to grow yourself, most don’t like venturing out into the night to search for it, which makes it expensive. I used the last of my boomslang skin and bison hair and they’re a pain in the arse to acquire, too.”

“How expensive are we talking?” He asked, looking at her as though she were only going to say a few dollars.

“It depends on the rarity and quality of the ingredient, as well the acquirability of it, but it can vary depending on vendors also. Things such as Venomous Tentacula Leaves are expensive, not because they’re hard to acquire or grow yourself, but due to the fact, they’re fatal. One leaf costs ten galleons, and if I were to convert that into muggle dollars, you’re looking at close to fifty.”

“Fifty dollars for a stinking leaf?” Jared spluttered in surprise, the others in the room mimicking his expression.

“A stinking leaf that can kill _and_ is needed to brew several potions, including some for healing, for which I’m going to have to brew for Jacob since my stocks are low and with his metabolism being as fast as is it, he’ll likely burn through the Pain Relief Potions quicker than I can keep up with.”

“What’re you doing now?” Embry asked as she peered over the cauldron and sighed in relief to see the potion to be lilac in colour, and checking the clock on the wall, she saw that a sufficient amount of time had passed and she could stir the potion before adding some powdered shrivelfig.

“Just completing the next step of this Calming Draught so I can stabilize it for the night,” she replied.

“And those two?” He gestured to the cauldrons further away.

“Invigoration Draught which is basically a witch’s version of an energy drink and Draught of the Living Death puts a person into a deep sleep, making them appear to be dead though they actually aren’t. The latter is one of the most difficult potions to brew; I started it the day after I got here and I’m barely halfway through brewing.”

“Can I help?” The pups chorused together, practically bouncing on the balls of their feet and trying to wiggle free of the hold Jared and Seth had on their t-shirts.

She looked up from the cauldron and smiled at them.

“Not tonight; it’s way past midnight. My supplies are severely low, once I’ve stocked up, then you can help me but you have to listen to everything I say, it’s very dangerous in here; I have volatile ingredients and potions that can explode for just being exposed to the wrong temperature,” she levelled them with a look that dared them to argue with her.

“Tomorrow?” Brady asked.

The pack chuckled at their excitement.

Her mouth twitched, they reminded her of herself before the war had started, so eager for knowledge and oh so amazed by magic and potions. But it was summer and school was now over, if the pups were with her helping to brew potions, they would be kept out of trouble. And potions was basically chemistry, by the time they returned to school, they’d be whizzes in the subject and far above everyone in their class.

“Not until after Jacob’s healed, I can’t risk not being here if something goes wrong.”

They deflated but nodded in understanding.

“Right then, we should be heading back ourselves,” Sam said and his words had everyone saying their goodbyes to Hermione and leaving out of the potions lab and to the exit of the tent.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Saturday 24th June 2006**

Hermione noticed that Leah stayed behind, her eyes locked on the only closed door in the corridor, meaning she knew that it had to be where Jacob was being kept.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Hermione spoke softly and Leah’s dark eyes snapped to her, her face was blank but her eyes were the complete opposite, filled with guilt and pain and worry. “What happened tonight, it wasn’t your fault, no matter what you believe. And the important thing now is that Jacob’s going to be fine. If you think about it, he’s got it better than the rest of you. He going to be waited on hand and foot, not that I can cook, but I can order a mean Chinese,” she saw Leah’s lip twitch slightly. “He’s not going to be getting out of bed and he’s going to be asleep for most of his bed rest, he gets out of patrols whilst the rest of you will have to cover for him.”

“Lazy bastard,” Leah muttered and she and Hermione shared a look and the corners of their mouths twitched.

“Are you hurt?” She asked.

Leah observed her carefully but shook her head. Hermione’s eyes flittered down to Leah’s hip where her tank top had ridden up and she could see a large and nasty-looking bruise beginning to set in. She didn’t doubt it went higher; she probably had a few broken ribs, too.

Hermione rolled her eyes and stepped back into her potions lab, grabbing a tub of Numbing Cream and a vial Skele-Gro Potion before holding them out and Leah she stared down at her hands.

“You don’t have to use them if you don’t want to, but they’ll help with that nasty bruise that’s already making an appearance,” Hermione gestured to her hip and Leah scowled down at it. “I know you have healing capabilities, but that doesn’t mean you don’t feel pain. This is a Numbing Cream, which when applied to a bruise, numbs the pain to a tingle, it also helps to speed up the healing process. The other is a Skele-Gro Potion and since I suspect you may have some broken ribs, it will help to speed up the healing process also, whilst making sure your ribs heal as they should and in the correct position. I’ll warn you, if you do decide to take it, it tastes foul, like something’s crawled in your mouth and died, foul.”

Leah’s lip twitched once again and her eyebrow rose slightly. She cautiously took the things from Hermione and then turned and walked down the hall.

“Lovely speaking with you,” Hermione snarked, a smile pulling at her mouth when she heard a snort escape from Leah.

Hermione followed her and stepped out of the tent, coming face to face with Sam.

“I’ll tell Billy you’ll pick him up after lunch,” Sam spoke.

She nodded and smiled at him. He turned to leave before he paused, he looked down at her, his eyes shifting between Hermione and something behind her. He looked nervous before he swooped down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, quickly leaving her sight.

She stood rooted to the spot in surprise and she slowly turned around, seeing that Seth was dying to laugh at her, she could see he was biting his lip and his eyes were crinkled.

“He.... he... just...” She whispered, not being able to finish her sentence.

That broke Seth and he leaned against a nearby tree, all but doubled over on himself as laughter peeled from him.

Hermione blinked several times before her mouth twitched at the way Seth had slid down the tree until he hit the floor, his hands pressed against his stomach and making sounds as though it were painful for him to laugh. She shook her head before heading back inside, leaving Seth to his laughter.

With a wave of her wand, she had everything cleaned away and put in their rightful places and then she headed to her potions lab, double-checking that everything was set to be left for the night and after hanging her robes up on the hook, she closed the door behind her. She yawned and stretched, going a little dizzy in the process and then sighed and headed to Jacob. She summoned some boxers and pyjama bottoms and after enlarging them, she magicked them onto him so he was no longer naked under the covers. She then headed to her bedroom, sitting on the edge of her bed and wincing when her bed creaked under her weight. She was kicking off her shoes when Seth entered, looking a lot calmer and still with a smile on his face.

“Feeling better?” She asked him amusedly, looking at him over her shoulder.

He nodded. “I don’t know why I couldn’t stop laughing, but between Sam’s uncharacteristic nervousness and fear to what I’d do to him for touching you and your shock at him kissing your cheek, I couldn’t control myself.”

Her hands came up to her shoulders, which were killing her. For weeks she’d been hunched over reading books and taking notes, brewing potions and getting injured, not to mention, the stress she was feeling by being pursued by Death Eaters, dealing with Ron’s continuous letters and insults, as well as Mrs. Weasley’s _and_ finding ways to keep the pack safe. Her muscles had tensed up to the point where it hurt when she lifted her arms too high or moved too quickly. And that’s not counting the stress she had to deal with throughout and after the war with school and exams, Ron and the press.

“Your shoulders hurting?” Seth observed, climbing onto the bed after kicking off his shoes.

“Killing me,” she mumbled tiredly.

“Come here,” he instructed.

Hermione shuffled back on the bed with her back to him and with her legs crossed and Seth shuffled behind her, moving closer and slipping his legs on either side of hers to bracket her. His hands brushed the skin of her neck when he pushed her curls over one shoulder and a sigh slipped past her lips when his hands took to her shoulders, being careful not to hurt her with his strength but applying enough pressure that he was able to work the aches and pains away as he took care of the tight knots in her shoulders. Hermione was putty in his hands, sitting before him with her head lolling forward and releasing soft moans and little whimpers when he found a particularly large knot at the junction of her neck and shoulder.

She could feel herself falling asleep, her eyes fluttering closed and sighs leaving her, she had no idea how long he’d been working at her shoulders but surely his fingers were hurting, though the possibility didn’t stop him as he moved his hands to the back of her neck. Hermione pulled her legs up and pressed her forehead against her knees, lifting her arms to gather her hair on top of her head to give him better access.

She bit down on her lip when he dragged his thumbs down the sides of her spine, a muffled moan escaping from the back of her throat and she felt Seth shift behind her before continuing with turning her into a pile of jelly. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so relaxed.

His hands moved away from her neck and followed the path of her spine down to the middle of her back and she felt the goosebumps erupt over her skin when his hands slipped under her t-shirt and trailed up her back until he reached her bra clasp, which he unfastened and she felt the elastic loosen and return to her sides. She didn’t comment nor move when he did this, though she did bite her lip when his hands continued to massage along her spine before his hands slipped lower towards the small of her back and Hermione shifted, letting go of her hair and it spilt down her back as she moved forward slightly and laid her legs flat, with her knees slightly raised, so that she could lean her body forward and press her forehead to them, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Seth reached the small of her back and splayed his hands on her hips, using his thumbs to dig into the dimples and dragging his thumbs outwards toward her hips, she sighed and moaned loudly and he stilled once again before continuing.

“You really are perfect,” she mumbled, but of course, he heard and he beamed at her, not that she could see. “You better not have done this for anyone else.”

He could hear the tone of possessiveness in her voice and his beam widened whilst his member -which had long since been woken due to the moans he was eliciting from her from simply giving her a massage- twitched.

“Sometimes my mom and Leah,” he responded with a shrug.

“Good,” she sighed. “Just you wait till I get cramps, you’d think your hands would fall off by the time I’d let you stop.”

“Cramps?” He echoed in confusion.

“Hmmm,” she hummed. “My menstrual cycle, massaging my back and shoulders helps with cramps, my mum used to do it for me, Harry and Ron would just blush bright red and run out of the room when I’d ask them to do it for me.” He could tell she was rolling her eyes, even if he couldn’t see and he chuckled. “Ginny would sometimes do it for me but she was rubbish at it. I once begged Fred to give me a massage in fifth year because I felt like my insides were being ripped out, he looked too terrified to decline. It was no use though since he’s a Quidditch player, a beater no less, so he couldn’t find the right balance of pressure to use and he’d hurt me by accident. George also being a beater was the same. They fled the corridors every time they saw me for two months afterwards.” He laughed. “I asked one of the house-elves since they have small hands, but again, it didn’t work since they’re small creatures and they don’t have a lot of strength so it didn’t hurt me because I could barely tell there was someone touching me.”

“Well, I have an older sister, the screaming, crying, mood swings and demands for shoulder rubs come with the territory.” She chuckled at him. “How can I help you?”

“You want to know how to help me when I’ve got cramps?” She questioned in surprise.

“Of course I do, if I can alleviate any stress or pain you may feel then I want to. I also want to know what to expect from you. With Leah, it was crying at the TV and screaming when I laughed too loud or when she couldn’t find the right colour shirt.”

She sighed. “Where have you been all my life?” She asked, giving a moan when he once again dug his thumbs into her dimples in back. “Well, let’s see,” she said, seeming to be thinking of her response. “Chocolate helps any girl, and I like to drink hot chocolate rather than tea, with whipped cream, mini-marshmallows and a funky straw,” she added and he chuckled, filing it away. “I like for someone to read to me, or to play with my hair. I like to be cuddled, I become this needy little kitten, Harry complained all the time when we were on the run because although we often shared a cot for warmth, he’d wake up choking on my hair when I had cramps.”

He didn’t know whether to laugh in amusement or growl at the idea of someone else sharing a bed with his girlfriend.

“I like to have my back and shoulders massaged and in general, I become a more affectionate person, wanting hugs all the time, or I’d sit and hold someone’s hand or play with their fingers, not even realising that I was doing it. Rather than becoming an emotional wreck, screaming and shouting and snapping over the tiniest of things, I will likely suffocate you in your sleep, more so than I do now. I also become lazy, not wanting to do anything, just wanting to stay in bed all day. I hardly get any research done since I can’t concentrate so I don’t really bother anymore.”

“So you won’t scream at me for eating the last of the ice cream?” He clarified.

“No, but if it’s chocolate and you touch it, you’ll lose your hands for a week,” she promised him, once again sighing.

“Got it, stay away from anything that contains cocoa,” he nodded to himself. “And... I’m done.”

He lifted his hands, fastening the clasp of her bra and she sat up, leaning back against him as his hands slipped around to rest on her taut stomach.

“No,” she groaned in protest.

“Yes, I’ve removed every knot that I could find.”

“But I was so comfortable,” she grumbled sleepily and he chuckled at her, peppering her cheeks with soft, butterfly kisses and she turned her cheek into him, smiling sleepily.

She stretched her neck and his kisses latched onto the new bit of skin that was revealed. She sighed and her hands found their way under her t-shirt, interlocking her fingers with his. She moaned when he lightly nibbled at her skin and she turned her head, managing to catch his lips with her own.

She turned in his hold, her tongue swiping across the seam of his lips and he parted for her, and knowing that she was more experienced than him, he allowed her to dominate the kiss, to take the lead. She rose up onto her knees, wrapping her arms around his neck and she pushed against him until he fell onto his back and she followed, her chest pressed flat against his and her legs straddling his hips.

She felt the bulge in his jeans and her hips began moving of their own accord, circling and grinding and his hands gripped at her hips, a sound that was a cross between a growl, gasp and groan being caught in her mouth.

She sat up and he followed her, his arms wrapping around her back and pulling her closer as she pulled her mouth from his needing to breathe and she moved her lips to his jaw and neck, nipping, kissing, nibbling and sucking, knowing that if she were to give him a love bite, it would be gone within the hour but that didn’t stop her, she _wanted_ to mark him as hers, no matter how long it lasted.

“What is it?” She asked panting and pulling back to look at him, knowing that something was playing on his mind.

“What?” His headed tilted to the side like a confused puppy and he looked adorable.

“I know there’s something on your mind, something that you can’t stop thinking about,” she said and her suspicions were confirmed when she noticed that his cheeks darkened, though it was difficult to see given his russet tone. “It’s something you’re embarrassed about,” she stated knowingly. “The only time I’ve known you to be embarrassed about anything is when it’s of a sexual nature, so, let’s talk this through. If there’s something you’re curious about or there’s something you want to try, let me know. This is a learning curve for us both, I may be slightly more experienced than you but that doesn’t mean I’m not learning, too,” she said softly, placing her hands against his cheeks. “I’m learning things about myself that I didn’t know before, just as I am learning about you, and you vice versa. So tell me, what’s got you so muddled up the head,” she tapped his right side temple with the pad of her index finger.

His eyes bore into hers before they fell downcast.

“I was just curious,” he mumbled.

“What are you curious about?” She prompted and he looked up at her and took a deep breath before leaning forward and whispering in her ear.

Her eyebrows rose slightly but then she smiled and pulled back from him, looking down at his embarrassed expression. She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his, distracting him from his embarrassment, and when they were both breathless she drew back and climbed off him, pulling him off the bed and out of the room towards the bathroom.

She flicked her wand, turning the shower on and setting it to the right temperature whilst she retrieved a couple of towels and left them in reaching distance before proceeding to strip out of her clothes. She didn’t have sensitive hearing but even she was able to hear the hitch in Seth’s breath and the way his breathing sped up. She climbed into the shower and sighed when the warm water washed over her.

“Are you joining me?” She asked, smiling when she heard the rustle of clothing being removed before Seth opened the shower door and stepped inside with her.

It wasn’t an overly large shower but it was big enough to just as say fit two people, but due to Seth’s large frame, it was a tighter fit. She took the soap and washcloth from the shelf and turned to face Seth, noting the way his eyes had darkened and he stared at her in lust, love, adoration and amazement, as she simply lathered the soap and picked up his hand, washing from his shoulder down to his fingers before moving to the other side. She softly dragged the washcloth down his neck and across his chest and abdomen and he inhaled deeply when she knelt down before him and repeated the process on his legs before standing and turning him around so she could do his back.

She pushed him under the water so the soap suds were washed off him and he took the soap and washcloth from her, reciprocating, washing from her neck down to her feet. He was gentle with her scars and when it came to her breasts he was hesitant but Hermione put him straight, meanwhile, Hermione’s skin broke out in goosebumps and she sighed happily. She was manoeuvred so she was under the shower and the soap was washed away and when she opened her eyes, it was to see Seth staring at her lovingly.

“What?” She asked him softly.

“You’re beautiful,” he stated with a tone of adoration, and normally Hermione would’ve protested, but she knew he meant it.

His hands came up to her cheeks, holding her gently and locking his gaze on hers.

“You are beautiful,” he repeated and she smiled at him.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you,” she admitted in a whisper, standing up on her tiptoes to rest her forehead against his. He tilted his head and pressed his lips to hers and pulled her closer to him. His erection rested against her stomach and that’s when she remembered Seth’s whispered confession.

She pulled back, moving her lips across his cheek and down towards his neck, nibbling at his jaw and throat, determined to leave a mark. She moved her mouth lower, placing kisses against collar bones and pectorals, moving lower to his abdomen until she was on her knees.

Seth’s eyes widened and his breathing sped up, seeming to understand what she was planning to do.

She looked up at him through her eyelashes, wanting to see his reaction as she took him in her hand and after a few strokes, she leaned forward and swiped her tongue over his slit before taking his head into her mouth and sucking gently.

Much to Hermione’s surprise, a series of colourful curses left him and he fell back against the tiled wall for support when she slowly, teasingly took him in her mouth, inch by inch, using her tongue to trace patterns on the way down and hollowing her cheeks and sucking on the way back up, taking great pleasure in seeing the way she was affecting him.

~000~000~000~

“I now understand the appeal,” he said quietly as they lay in bed together.

Seth was wearing nothing but boxers and Hermione a pair of knickers and one of Seth’s t-shirts which he’d left behind, not that he minded. He’d come to the conclusion she should _only_ wear his clothes. She had laughed at him when he pointed it out after climbing out of the shower and drying.

She chuckled at his words and snuggled closer, her fingers trailing circles on his chest and her head resting over his heart, hearing the steady beat putting her in a trance.

“Well, I’m glad that I could help,” she spoke sleepily.

“There’s something else I’m curious about,” he admitted, and she noted that he sounded a lot more confident than he had before and she smiled to herself.

“Yes?”

He placed a kiss to her forehead before whispering his reply in her ear. Her breath hitched and her fingernails inadvertently scratched over his chest, causing a low rumble of a growl to be pulled from the back of his throat. She looked up at the clock and saw that it was close to three in the morning.

“Next time,” she promised him, leaning up to give him a kiss which he tried to deepen but she pulled away and smacked at his chest lightly. “You’re exhausted, I’m exhausted, it’s been a stressful day and we need sleep.”

He placed a kiss to her forehead, pulled her even closer to him and they both fell asleep.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Sunday 25th June 2006**

Hermione was awoken by a groaning sound and she peeled open her eyes, blinking away the sleep as she pulled away from Seth and sat up, his arm falling down onto her legs and he made a sound in his sleep but didn’t move or wake.

She looked up at the clock, seeing that it was just after eight o’clock in the morning and she’d only had five hours sleep, nowhere near enough to allow her to be on top form, so she’d have to take an extended nap that day to keep her mind sharp and focused.

She frowned when she heard the noise again and she looked down at Seth and rolled her eyes fondly, of course, he hadn’t heard it, for someone with hearing such as his, he was dead to the world when he slept. When she heard the noise once more, she shifted out of Seth’s hold and climbed out of bed, stretching as his t-shirt which fell slightly above her knee, rose up, skimming the skin of her leg.

With her wand in hand, she padded barefoot out of her room and followed the sound to the room across hers, being reminded that it was currently being occupied by Jacob, she rushed forward and opened the door, seeing him struggling to sit up.

His eyes locked on hers and they widened slightly, seeing her current state of dress but she wasn’t embarrassed; as she’d told Paul, she wasn’t a prude and she’d spent the better part of a year in a confined space with two hormonal teenage boys, and she had grown up with the Weasley boys, the twins were a nightmare to keep clothes on.

He groaned in pain again, pulling his eyes from her legs and she scowled at him as he tried to sit up. She stormed over and placed a hand on his bare chest, although she was not strong enough to hold him in place, her touch had him stilling and laying back down.

“I don’t think so, you’re on bed rest for an entire week, and I’m warning you now, if you even _attempt_ to leave this bed without my knowledge or leave to do so, I will make the coming week very difficult for you.”

He blinked up at her in surprise and then groaned again.

“I’ll be right back and don’t you dare move,” she warned.

She left the room and disappeared into her potion’s lab, returning moments later with an armful of differently coloured potion vials which she placed on the bedside table. She then sat on the bed beside him and helped him to move slightly to that he wasn’t sat up, but he was propped up by pillows and cushions.

She picked up a potion and he tried to reach out for it but she glared at him. He silently admitted he was glad she’d done so, it hurt to move, he could barely lift his head or arms. Without thought, he opened up his mouth and she tilted his head back a little, pouring the foul-tasting concoction into his mouth. He coughed as he swallowed it all down and within minutes, he felt the pain in his body reduce until it was a dull ache.

“How are you feeling?” She asked him softly, now that she’d stopped glaring at him.

“Better, a lot better,” he admitted. “Thank you.”

“For what?” She tilted her head to the side.

“For coming to help,”

She chuckled at him, shook her head and smiled. “Of course, I came to help you. I would’ve been rather put out if I hadn’t been called and the vampire,” she hissed slightly, “Had _tried_ to heal you instead.”

He blinked in surprise since he’d not heard any of her interactions with the vampires, his mind and body being too focused on the crippling pain.

“Not that he’d be able to help you the way I could.”

“What did you do to me?” He asked her.

She smiled now, no longer looking disgusted. “I gave you something for the pain, I placed you into a deep sleep and I had to cast a couple of body-binds on you to stop the healing process so it didn’t make your injuries worse. Sam, Embry and Paul helped me to magically transport you here, where Harry was waiting for us along with a trusted magical doctor. We did what we could for you and she’s happy in knowing that I can handle the rest of your treatment. With your healing capabilities combined with magical healing, you’ll be completely fine in a week’s time. Until then, you do as I say and we’ll get along just fine.” He snorted at her. “If anything, you’ll likely sleep through the week, the amount of healing and pain potions I’ll be giving you will make you groggy. The pack visited last night and I imagine they’ll be coming by sometime today. You father has been informed of what happened and he knows that you’re here and you’re being taken care of.”

A look of guilt crossed his face.

“I’m going to collect your father around lunchtime so he may visit you, it’ll take me a while to remove the wards surrounding the tent but I can do it.”

“Why do you have to remove them?” He asked confused, and looking glad that she was allowing his father to enter her private home where he might judge her, even if he did so unknowingly.

“I have Muggle Repellent wards surrounding the tent in a two mile radius, in order to prevent anyone from stumbling upon me and discovering the secret of magic. If they come close, the wards will suddenly give them urge of needing to be somewhere else and they’ll leave,” she shrugged. “Due to that fact, your father won’t be able to get within two miles of the tent. So, if I can’t rework the wards to allow only your father access, I’ll have to remove them completely and put them back up once he’s left.”

She saw him flinch.

“What’s the matter?” She asked in concern.

“I don’t know, my body feels strange,” he gazed down at himself and Hermione frowned. She picked up her wand from the bedside table and gently pressed it against his forehead, muttering under her breath.

She glowered when the blue light that resembled a muggle x-ray scan disappeared and she sighed.

“What is it?”

“The damage done to your left side was severe, the bones in your shoulder down to your knee cap had been shattered completely and not only would it be difficult and painful for your body to heal naturally, it would be dangerous as fragments of shattered bone may have entered your bloodstream. For that reason, Healer Nicholas and I both agreed that the best course of action would be to remove the shattered bones completely and grow them back with Skele-Gro. The Skele-Gro is doing most of the work but your healing’s starting to kick in, which is forcing your still-growing bones out of place, which is the biggest obstacle we’re up against. I’m going to have to force your bones into growing in the correct manner, and in order to do that I’m going to have to break your bones several times over the next few days so I can reset them.”

He winced at the thought and she nodded in agreement.

“Your bones are beginning to form out of position. I want to put you to sleep so you don’t feel any pain, even the Pain Potion can’t protect you from it. I need to get some food into you first, so I’ll do my best to stop the healing process in its tracks for now, or at the very least, delay it until you’ve eaten.”

She raised her wand and he watched as her brow furrowed slightly and a look of concentration set over her face and she mumbled under her breath, not that he could understand a word she said. A few minutes, later she lowered her wand.

“Okay, I’ve bought us half an hour, at least. I’ll quickly make breakfast before I give you something to help you sleep. Pancakes alright?”

His stomach gave a sudden rumble and she laughed lightly whilst he gave her a sheepish smile.

“I’m sure I still have some bacon and eggs, too, what would you like to drink? Tea? Milk? Orange juice?”

“Coffee?”

“No, there’s too much caffeine and I don’t want to risk jump-starting the healing process again, when you have so much of it in your system to override my magic.”

He scowled. “Fine, I’ll have some orange juice.”

“Okay, I’ll be back shortly, don’t move.”

She exited the room and made her way to the kitchen and she’d barely put the batter into the pan when she felt Seth sidle up behind her, wrap his arms around her and kiss her cheek in greeting.

“Morning,” he greeted, still sounding half asleep.

“Morning,” she chirped and he chuckled at her. “I would ask if you’re hungry but it’s pointless.”

He chuckled at her, bending slightly so he could rest his chin on her shoulder and watching her prepare breakfast.

“Pancakes?” He asked happily.

She laughed, Seth had a weakness for pancakes, chocolate sauce and chocolate flakes.

“And bacon and eggs,” she gestured to the other two frying pans which were currently spitting hot fat.

She turned down the heat and turned over the bacon whilst removing the eggs from the pan and plating them up.

“Jacob’s awake if you want to talk to him.” He nodded and kissed her cheek. “Don’t let him move,” she told him and Seth snorted.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, I saw how terrifying you can be last night.”

“I don’t like vampires,” she stated without embarrassment or remorse.

“I know,” he shrugged. “I don’t know what you do, nor do I know what you’ve seen or been up against, so if you hate them, then you hate them, and you’ve only cemented the packs’ respect and like of you after last night. I thought Paul and Jared were going to pass out from trying to contain their laughter, and Sam, I thought he was going to cry.” She snorted at him. “I’ll go and check on Jake,” he kissed her cheek and then left the room. She turned her head and had to force herself to not stare at him as he was still dressed in only his boxers.

Hermione finished up with the pancakes and prepared them for herself and Seth, whilst making a cup of tea for herself, and glasses of orange juice for Seth and Jacob. She gathered the chocolate sauce and then levitated everything to the spare bedroom.

She placed everything on the table and Jacob stared at the food lovingly and she chuckled. They ate in a comfortable silence and when done, Hermione could see that Jacob was beginning to tire. She glared at him until he swallowed the Sleeping Draught and she quickly went about placing magical splints on his bones to better set them in the correct position for growth.

~000~000~000~

“Why have we stopped here, Dear?” Sue asked from the back seat, seeing as Billy was in the passenger’s side.

Hermione had drove to Jacob’s house at lunchtime to collect Billy and she’d been surprised to see that Sue was there also, wishing to see Jacob and her son, as well as Hermione’s home.

“We can’t get any closer with the car,” Hermione answered before she climbed out the car from where it was in the usual hiding spot, hidden by trees. It could only be seen if you knew it was there.

After Billy was placed back into his wheelchair and Hermione locked the car, she contemplated her next move.

“Okay,” she said slowly. “The next part of travel will have to be magical, I’m afraid, we’re a few miles out from where we need to be and for obvious reasons, we can’t walk or drive.”

“Will it hurt?” Billy asked her, still eyeing her distrustfully, she noted.

“No, it won’t hurt but it’ll make you feel sick for a few minutes. Just take a deep breath and close your eyes. You’ll feel as though you’re being squeezed through a too-tight tube. If you throw up, it’s a normal reaction to first time travel by this means of transport.”

She held onto the handle of the wheelchair and gestured for Sue to link her arm through Hermione’s.

“Just don’t let go and don’t panic, I don’t want to get distracted as it will most likely result in injury. On the count of three. One...” She turned on her heel and apparated.

~000~000~000~

Sue double over on herself and Billy groaned and cursed under his breath as they both took steadying breaths and had their eyes screwed shut tightly.

“Are you feeling okay?” She asked them both after a couple of minutes.

Sue nodded and stood, though she still looked a little sickly and Billy nodded slowly.

“I don’t wish to do that again,” he mumbled. She gave him a sheepish look.

“I’m sorry to say that we have to. We’re still two miles out.”

“Then why have we stopped here?” Sue asked.

“I have a series of magical barriers protecting my home in a two mile radius. These barriers prevent non-magicals, such as yourselves, from being able to stumble upon me and discover the secret of magic. In order for you be able to pass my protective wards, I’ll have to rework them slightly.”

She stepped forward and they watched in silence for the next ten minutes as she waved her wand in intricate movements and muttered under her breath before she turned around to face them.

“I think I can bypass the wards but I need a drop of your blood.”

“Excuse me?” Billy blinked, shock, intrigue, distrust flashing across his face.

Sue rolled her eyes and without thought gave her hand to Hermione. She smiled at her and Hermione took her hand, placing her wand against her fingertip and making a tiny incision. She then lifted her finger and Sue gasped when she felt the solid magical barrier beneath her hand and she shivered as tingles ran through her as the invisible barrier suddenly glowed red before becoming invisible once again. Hermione healed the cut and Sue stared in awe. Billy reluctantly allowed her to repeat the process with him and she healed his cut, too.

“It’s strange,” Sue commented, “Before you did that, I had a headache and I didn’t feel comfortable being here, I wanted to leave,” she frowned.

Hermione nodded. “That’s the wards taking effect, they usually give you the sudden urge or need to be somewhere else so that you don’t try to cross them. I’ve bypassed the wards by adding you to them, so that if you are to visit again, you’ll be able to pass through them automatically. I’m afraid, Mr. Black, that I must transport us a further two miles.”

He grimaced but allowed Hermione to do so.

“Seth said it’s a magic tent, it’s like a house inside,” Sue commented, once they’d landed and after a few minutes of recuperating, stepping out of the trees and her tent coming into view. Hermione cast a quick spell on the ground to remove any debris and levelling it out for Billy’s wheelchair.

“Yes, it’s a magical tent. Inside I have a kitchen, bathroom, living room, two bedrooms and a potion’s lab where I brew all of my healing supplies, which I will be doing continuously until Jacob is healed. It may look small, but I promise, it’s not.”

Sue pushed Billy’s wheelchair as they followed Hermione into the tent. Their eyes widened and they gasped in surprise and Hermione’s mouth pulled into a smile when she saw that even Billy was awed.

“You may look at anything you wish to but please don’t touch any of the books on the shelves and don’t go near my potion’s lab.” They nodded distractedly, still looking about in wonder. “I’ll take you to Jacob, hopefully, he’ll be awake now, I only gave him enough Sleeping Draught to keep him out for a few hours and his metabolism burns it off faster than usual.”

They followed her down the corridor and Hermione pushed open the door, seeing that Jacob was awake and talking with a now dressed Seth, though they stopped when they entered the room.

Jacob smiled at his father and Seth at his mother.

“How are you feeling?” Billy asked, moving closer to the bed.

“At the moment I’m fine, Hermione’s dulled the pain so it’s more of an intense ache,” he shrugged.

“What did the magical doctor say?” Bill asked, looking back at Hermione.

“Coupled with his advanced healing and my magical healing, he’s going to be fine in a week’s time. I’m treating his injuries the best way I know how. He’s going to spend the next week mostly sleeping since the Pain Potions and healing spells I’ll be using on him will make him sleepy. So, he’s on bed rest until I deem him healthy enough to move. His bones are growing back with the aid of a Skele-Gro Potion, I just have to monitor them and make sure they form in the correct position. Other than that, he’s fine,” she promised. “Right, Seth, let’s allow them some time to converse, you can help me with lunch.”

“But you can’t cook,” he said confused.

Sue laughed when Hermione scowled at him.

“Yes, thank you for the reminder of my terrible culinary skills,” she huffed. “I’ll have you know that I’m able to cook breakfast foods, so I’m not a complete failure, and I’m only making soup. It’s the easiest meal to prepare and I can do so without setting the kitchen on fire.”

Sue hid a chuckle behind her hand and Seth smiled sheepishly at her. They both went to leave the room when Jacob spoke.

“Err, Hermione?”

“Yes?” She turned, smiling at him.

“I need to pee,” he said, looking slightly embarrassed.

She shrugged. “You’re not leaving that bed for an entire week, even if I have to temporarily glue you to it. There’s a spell that Healers use on coma patients, luckily for you, I learned it a few weeks ago.” She simply waved her wand at him and she saw the relief on his face.

She smiled at him and then pulled Seth out of the room, shutting the door behind them, leaving Jacob, Billy and Sue to talk.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Sunday 25th June 2006**

Seth chuckled from his place leaning against the wall as Hermione cursed in a foreign language, yelped, and cradled her hand against her chest as she glared at the large pan on the stove.

"What's with the language?" Paul asked as he entered the tent, the rest of the pack following him and while he watched her amused, the others still looked amazed by what they were seeing.

"I'm making soup for lunch."

"But you can't cook," he replied knowingly.

He chuckled as he found himself catching a tea towel that Hermione had thrown at him, intending to hit him in the face.

"Shouldn't have said that," Seth sniggered.

"Yes, thank you for the reminder, Paul, as I wasn't aware of my ability to set off the Fire Detecting Charms by barely touching the oven."

He smirked at her and raised an eyebrow at her irritated look, and the others sniggered when they snapped out of their daze. Hermione threw another tea towel at him and turned back to the pan, glaring at it.

"Did your mother not teach you to cook, Dear?"

Hermione turned her head, seeing that Sue had entered the room with an amused smile on her face and she smiled at the others in greeting and they waved back.

"No," she sighed. "By the time I was considered old enough to get near the oven I had left for Hogwarts and once I entered the Wizarding World I spent most of my time there, during the school holidays I stayed with the Weasleys. Although Mrs. Weasley is a tremendous cook, I never had time to learn from her as I was too busy trying to keep Ronald and Harry from failing their classes and keeping them alive during the war. After the war, I returned to school and then I moved here after the whole Ron debacle."

Sue smiled at her sadly. "Not to worry, Dear, I'll teach you," she spoke kindly, stepping over to the oven beside her and peering over the pan, a grimace on her face.

"I'm afraid I'm a lost cause," Hermione sighed. "Cooking is _not_ my forte, put me in a potions lab and I'll perfect a potion quicker than you can say 'witches brew,' but put me in a kitchen and you're just asking for food poisoning."

The pack snorted at her and she turned to scowl at them.

Sue chuckled. "What were you making?"

"Tomato soup."

Sue looked up at her and blinked. "But it's green and smells like cabbage."

The others sniggered and Hermione nodded sadly.

"Yeah, I know," she crossed her arms in a huff. "It's the easiest meal to prepare and I want to keep Jacob on light foods whilst he's on his treatment."

"You made him pancakes, bacon and eggs this morning," Seth pointed out amusedly.

"I know, I did that deliberately. Fat and sugars are a good source of energy, which his body needs to function. So for breakfast, he'll likely be getting the same but for lunch and dinner he'll be getting light foods, even if I have to go out and buy them from a bloody cafe."

He snorted and shook his head.

"Don't worry, Dear," Sue chuckled. "I'll whip up a quick soup now."

"You don't have to," Hermione shuffled on her feet. "You're a guest here, after all, and I can easily buy some from the supermarket, and I'm sure the twins will send me what I need if I owl them and ask for it."

"Don't be silly," Sue smiled. "It's the least I can do after what you've done for the pack, they told us of the gift you gave them."

Hermione did not blush, she didn't. Okay, maybe a little.

"Thank you," she said embarrassedly and she banished the foul-smelling concoction from the pan and summoned the ingredients she had left for the soup for Sue.

She left the kitchen and sat down on the floor by the coffee table whilst the rest of the pack had already made themselves comfortable on the furniture.

"What're you doing?" Jared asked her, watching as the coffee table suddenly filled with papers and books until you couldn't see the surface.

"Research, I wasn't joking when I said I wanted to add a better defence onto the necklaces I gave you. I want them to be one hundred percent effective. So, I'm going back to the drawing board. Was the vampire able to break through the mental barriers?"

The pack suddenly laughed in joy.

"No, it was the best thing I've ever seen," Paul commented, the others nodded in agreement. "Apparently they struggled to get a read on our emotions, too."

"What do you mean?" She spoke quickly, looking up from the book in front of her. They all shrugged.

"One of them can feel and manipulate emotions," Embry answered.

She turned her head to look back at Seth and she slapped his knee.

"What was that for?" He rubbed at the stinging flesh.

"You didn't tell me there was an empathy, too," she glared at him. The others sniggered when he looked sheepish. "Who is it?" She asked.

"What's his name again?" Quil asked, looking to the others and they all frowned in concentration.

"Jasper?" Collin offered and the others nodded in confirmation.

Hermione sighed and put her head in her hands. "So it's true, it's not just a rumour," she muttered.

"Why're you surprised by this?" Sam asked her. She locked eyes with him and he was curious and worried by her reaction.

"I know who Jasper Whitlock is." The room was quiet, even Sue had turned from the oven to listen to their conversation. "And honestly, if Seth had told me you would be working in close quarters with him, I would've been present but hidden and keeping watch over him."

They were surprised by her words, darting glances to each other.

"Jasper Whitlock is one of the most feared vampires to exist due to his role in the Southern Vampire Wars. He trained, controlled and killed newborns, it's how he knew so much about them and their weaknesses and strengths. He's an expert. I completed a research paper on him for my history of magic class before I graduated Hogwarts. There's books in my world that speak of him. He might be an animal diet practitioner now, but he was once a bloodthirsty and war honed soldier. And from what I know of him, he's likely struggling to remain on this diet and if anyone is to lose control, it'll be him. The books stated that it was believed that he had the ability to control and manipulate emotions but it was never confirmed as no one lived long enough to find out if the rumours were true. He's the weak link in regards to the diet but he'll be their best strategic mind and fighter."

They blinked at her.

"Are there any more abilities I need to know about, excluding the mind reader and the empath?"

They all looked at each other.

"Well, the pixie, as far as we're aware, is able to see various outcomes of the future and only the true outcome when a decision has been made," Sam offered.

"Oh that's just fantastic," she threw her hands up and cursed in a foreign language. They were amused by her response.

"From our understanding, her ability doesn't include us due to our genetic makeup, it only extends to humans and other vampires but the imprints of the pack are protected, we block her sight, which is why we wish to keep your existence a secret. They now know you're connected to Seth, which means they've likely figured out you're his imprint, but they don't know of your abilities or what you're capable of."

Hermione sighed. "Well, that's one less thing for me to fend against. Anyone else?"

"The tall one, he's the strongest of the lot of them."

"Okay, anyone else?"

"Does blondie being a massive bitch count?" Paul injected.

She snorted at him. "Afraid not, but out of all of them, she's the one I hate the least," she shrugged.

"Soup's ready, who would like some?" Sue interrupted. The hands that shot up in response made Hermione chuckle.

~000~000~000~

"Hermione, Dear?"

Hermione looked up from her book and smiled at Sue whilst the pack conversed between themselves and Collin and Brady were lost in another book Hermione had given them to keep them entertained.

"Yes?"

"May we have a word with you?"

"Of course," Hermione nodded, putting down her book and following Sue into Jacob's room where he was currently sleeping since Hermione had forced another Pain Potion down his throat after lunch. Billy sat in his wheelchair beside the bed.

"Is there something wrong?" Hermione asked after she entered.

Billy shared a look with Sue and he cleared his throat.

"The pack speak very highly of you," he informed her. She blinked in confusion. "From my understanding, you have done a great deal for them and you have created objects to better protect them from the enemies of the Tribe. I have been informed that you took weeks away from your studies and tracking of war criminals, in order to do so. Each member of the pack respects you and they have all but made you an official pack member."

She blinked again, unsure of where the conversation was heading. Hermione looked to Sue who was smiling softly.

"I don't know if I'm doing this right, but," he cleared his throat and Hermione's eyes snapped back to him at the words that followed. "I, Billy Black, elder of the Quileute Tribe, do hereby relinquish you, Hermione Granger, of your vows."

Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock and her eyes flittered between Sue and Billy.

"I, Sam Uley, Alpha of the Quileute Pack..."

Hermione spun around so quickly she made herself dizzy. Stood behind her were the pack; she hadn't even heard them follow her. Seth was stood next to Sam, beaming a large grin, Paul's was a little more contained and the others looked happy, too, even Leah managed a twitch of the lip.

"Do hereby relinquish you, Hermione Granger, of your vows."

She blinked in surprise, feeling tears welling up in her eyes before she gave a sudden gasp and doubled over on herself. Seth made to move forward but a sudden golden glow surrounded her, growing brighter and brighter until they had to shield their eyes against it.

When the light dulled, it revealed that there was a golden circle surrounding Hermione and it moved from her hips, up her body and over her head, floating in the air above her like a halo before there was a sudden bang, and like a firework, the golden circle burst into sparks and showered the room in gold dust, disappearing as they hit the ground.

Seth caught her as she fell to the ground and he sat down with her, pulling her to lean against him. She was breathing heavily, her eyes were screwed shut and she whimpered in pain. Seth muttered soothing words in her ear and she slowly gained control of her breathing and opened her eyes, seeing that everyone was staring at her worriedly.

"Why did you do that? Why did you release me from my vow? How did you know what to do?" Her voice was quiet and she sounded tired and looked sleepy.

"You've proven your friendship and loyalty to not only Seth but the pack, too," Sam answered with a shrug and a small smile. "You're an ally of the pack and you're a friend. And we've wanted to release you from the vow for a few weeks now, only we couldn't. Jared and Paul told me what you told them in the car that day, and we needed an elder to also release you from the vow."

Her eyes darted to Billy.

"You've proven yourself," he stated. "I'm wary of what you're capable of but you're loyal to the pack. You risked the death sentence of your world to speak to us, and from what you're President said, there are a lot of people that would take the opportunity you presented them to punish you. You protected the pack and you are healing my son, and we were informed that ingredients for your treatments are expensive. No matter the cost, I will reimburse you."

"No, you won't," Hermione shook her head. "I'm able to afford all of Jacob's medical care and I won't allow you to pay for it, it's good practice for me, anyway, I'm thinking of becoming a Potion's Mistress once all the war criminals are caught."

"But you said that one fatal magical leaf would cost you fifty dollars," Jared frowned. "And that Jacob's metabolism would burn through your stock rather quickly."

"It will, and I can afford it."

"How so?" Embry asked.

She sighed. "I'm fairly well off, you could say."

"Excuse me?" Seth said, looking down at her in surprise. She'd never mentioned anything regarding money before, well, except for her inheritance from her parents. The others looked surprised, too.

"I have a fair bit of money in my bank vault," she admitted. "Aside from my inheritance from my parents, I received reward money after the war when I was awarded my Order of Merlin; First Class, and I received compensation from those that caused me harm in the war, the Malfoys, Dolohovs and Lestranges, since they did the most damage. Dolohov almost killed me when I was sixteen, Bellatrix Lestrange tortured me, and the Malfoys stood by and allowed it to happen. I also received a stipend from the Blacks, since Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange are sisters and previously Blacks before marriage. Not to mention, Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, left me something in his will, too."

"Why have you never told me this before?" Seth asked with a frown.

She shrugged. "You never asked and the topic never arose." She turned her attention back to the pack members. "You do realise that now you've released me from my binding contract, if you anger or upset me, I am able to hex you, yes?" She questioned, arching an eyebrow. They shifted on their feet. "And I'd do it, Fred and George are on the receiving end of my wand regularly, as is Harry and they're my brothers. Speaking of which..."

Before they could blink, Hermione had pulled her wand and much to their amazement, a flock of bright yellow canaries shot from the tip of her wand and swarmed Paul. He was cursing and swatting them away and when Hermione cancelled the spell, Paul was covered in peck marks and feathers. He scowled at her and by this point, the others had fallen into laughter, even Sue chuckled behind her hand and Billy seemed to be fighting off a smile.

"What the hell was that for?" Paul glared at her.

"You know _exactly_ what that was for," she answered, and he did, it was payback for his teasing comments and smirks during the whole Lust Potion incident. "I don't know why you're laughing," she said, drawing the attention of the pack. "Seth told me _everything_." They laughed nervously and Seth smirked at them in response.

Seth was glad they'd abolished the magical contract. Not only was Hermione now free to practice her magic, but she could also keep the pack in line and use magic to prank them, just as he'd had been begging her to for a while after hearing stories of the prankster twins, Fred and George.

It was going to be a fun summer.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count:12

**Friday 30th June 2006**

Hermione made a noise of frustration and Seth popped his head into her potions lab.

“What’s up?” He asked her.

“Jacob’s still complaining of pain and I’ve run out of...For my Pain Potions. I’ve also got no...Left and I need it so I can brew the Numbing Cream. On top of that, I can’t make a start on a new batch of PolyJuice, Dreamless Sleep nor a Contraceptive Potion since I don’t have the ingredients to do so. My supply stores are a lot lower than I previously thought. I have nothing. Nothing!” She huffed and crossed her arms.

He chuckled at her. “Jake’s just being a baby,” Seth informed her. “He likes the fact that you’re all but waiting on him hand and foot, and so is my mom when she visits.”

“I don’t understand,” she sighed, running her hand through her hair. “Jacob’s x-rays show that his bones have grown back and although I’ve had to constantly re-break them, they’ve healed exactly like they should’ve. I’m just waiting for the bone to harden until I allow him to see if he can walk. I know that he should still feel achy and tired but he shouldn’t be in need of a full dosage of Pain Potion. It’s been five days.”

“He’s milking it,” he shrugged, walking over to her and pulling her into his arms. “I’m sure he’s still feeling some pain but not to the extent of what he has been.”

“Why would he do that?” She frowned.

“He’s being taken care of by a beautiful young woman, regardless of the fact she already has a boyfriend.”

“You don’t seem upset by this,” she noted, leaning back to look at his face.

He smirked at her, a look that was foreign on his face.

“No, I’m not. I know you love me and I know Jake wouldn’t overstep his mark. He’s just lapping up the attention. And, I knew that when you’d figured out what it was he’s doing, you’d want revenge.”

Her eyes glimmered and he laughed.

“I wonder how fast Fred and George can get some products to me,” she mused.

“And that’s why I love you,” he pecked her on the lips.

“Oh, so it’s not for my cooking skills?”

He laughed at her. “Obviously, no one can give me food poisoning quite like you,” he quipped.

She slapped at his chest whilst scowling playfully.

“Hermione! It hurts!” Jacob called from his room.

Hermione grumbled under her breath in a foreign language and Seth chuckled.

“I haven’t got enough ingredients and...”

“Wait a minute,” Seth said frowning. “Did you say you couldn’t make any more of your Contraception Potion?”

“Yes,” she arched an eyebrow questioningly.

“How much have you got left?”

“Nothing, I took the last vial at the beginning of the month and it’s worn off now.”

“You need to go shopping, like _now_ ,” he said with a serious look on his face, nodding vehemently. She’d never seen him so serious and it pulled a laugh from her.

“Or we could just hold off on having sex until...”

“Not happening,” he interrupted.

“I’ve created a monster,” she rolled her eyes. “I can’t leave Jacob.”

“He’s out of the woods now, like you said, his bones have grown back in the correct places and you’re just waiting for them to harden. As long as he doesn’t leave the bed he’s fine. I’ll stay with him and keep an eye on him until you get back, and Paul and the pups are in the living room, so I’ve got them for back up.”

“Don’t you want to come with me?” She questioned.

“To your magical stores?”

She nodded. Excitement lit his face.

“I would _love_ to but I don’t think we should leave Paul alone with the pups, or Jacob for that matter.” Hermione nodded in agreement. “So, your next trip, I’ll come with you.”

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek, pulling back from him and making her way to Jacob’s room.

“I’m sorry, you can’t have any more Pain Potion, nor can you have any more Dreamless Sleep.”

“Why not?” He pouted. “It hurts.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve run out, Seth’s going to keep an eye on you whilst I do a few errands and pick up some more ingredients so I can brew more of the potions. You’re a big boy, you’ll have to manage the pain. I shouldn’t be too long.”

She left the room and quickly headed back to her potion’s lab, using a self-writing quill and some paper and spelling them to take inventory so she knew which ingredients she needed to purchase. She then left it to it and headed to her bedroom. She brushed her hair and pulled it into a messy bun and she looked down at her clothing, which were covered in potion splashes. She quickly changed into a summer dress as she knew from her letters London was rather warm lately.

Her white dress had a rounded neckline and showed off her shoulders, the lilac floral pattern covered the bodice and skirt which fell to her mid-thigh with some grey shading. She slipped on some white ballet pumps and grabbed a pair of white robes, slipping them over the top and she slipped her wand into her pocket along with her beaded bag before nodding to herself in the mirror.

She collected the completed ingredients list and slipped it into her pocket and she said her goodbyes to Seth and Jacob, who were conversing in his room.

“Where are you going?” Paul asked with a raised eyebrow, looking up from the Quidditch book he’d found in her bookcases, whilst Brady and Collin lifted their heads from another magical creatures tome.

“I’m out of potion ingredients, I literally have _nothing_. And now Jacob’s over the worst of his injuries, Seth said he’d watch him whilst I head to Diagon Alley and get what I need.”

“You’re going to your magical world?” Brady asked, looking excited and shaking in his seat whilst Collin mirrored him.

Honestly, if she didn’t know any better she would say they were twins. Their mannerisms were similar to how Fred and George interacted.

“I am, yes, I shouldn’t be too long, I have a few hours before the alley closes for the night,” she looked up at the clock and did the mental math.

“Can we come?” Collin asked.

She looked at them amused. “I’m afraid you’re minors and if I were to just suddenly take you out of the country and someone were to find out, I would be arrested for kidnapping. I’d need your parents’ permission and seeing as they don’t know about me, I can’t.”

She’d thought they’d look dejected but they just grinned at her mischievously and she arched a brow in response.

“Actually, our dads have gone fishing for the week, they only left last night and won’t be back until next Friday.” Brady grinned.

“Sue’s looking after us for the week, so you’d need permission from _her_ ,” Collin finished.

Paul chuckled at the blank look on her face as she blinked at them.

“They’ve got you there, and we both know Sue wouldn’t say no to you, she already sees you as her daughter.”

Hermione blinked again.

“He’s right!” Seth’s voice called from Jacob’s room and she scowled at him, though he couldn’t see.

“Keep your ears to yourself,” she spoke and his laughter filled the room. She turned back to the grinning pups and sighed, she wouldn’t tell them this as they’d use it against her, but they both had adorable puppy eyes. “Fine,” she agreed and they yelled and punched the air in victory, causing Paul to snort as he turned another page in his book.

“But we have rules.” They both sat down and composed themselves, nodding seriously. “No running off. Don’t touch anything unless I say you can, I don’t want you getting hurt, or worse, _killed_.” They gulped and nodded. “You have to listen to everything I say and you have to stay close to me, I don’t want you getting lost in the crowd of hundreds of people. Don’t talk to strangers and don’t take anything anyone offers you.”

“We promise,” they spoke together. She rolled her eyes.

She summoned some black robes and resized them to fit them perfectly.

“Put these on, you’ll blend in. Hopefully, no one will recognise me, I can’t be done with the _Prophet_ writing an article about my sudden reappearance, and I swear to Merlin, if I see Ronald or Skeeter, I’m punching them in the face.”

Paul chuckled.

“That’s my girl! Kick their asses!” Seth called.

Hermione rolled her eyes once more and she held out her hands and the pups seeing Seth do it plenty of times, stood and gripped her hands tightly, even if they towered over her, Hermione had to remind herself that these were thirteen-year-old boys.

“I shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”

Paul shrugged. “Get some more of that fire-stuff, yeah?”

“Fine,” she sighed before they disappeared from view.

~000~000~000~

After apparating to Seth’s house, she spoke with Sue who was more than happy for the pups to accompany her to Diagon Alley, stating that she trusted Hermione to watch over them and that it was a once in a lifetime experience for the boys.

The pups grinned at her smugly and Sue smiled knowingly.

“Puppy eyes?” Sue had said. Hermione had grumbled in reply.

And after apparating to Port Angeles, she kept the boys close to her and floo’d them to Diagon Alley. They’d looked around in awe when they landed in the Leaky Cauldron, patrons sat at the bar and tables, drinking fire whisky and elf-wine, conversing and laughing, whilst trays of alcohol and food were floating about, going between the bar and tables.

Hermione ushered the boys out of the pub and into the crowded alley.

“Wow!” They both whispered, their eyes taking everything in and their hands that still gripped hers, tightened and she felt them shaking in excitement.

She smiled at the sight and she knew how they felt, she had the same reaction every time she set foot in Diagon Alley. The sights, sounds and smells never got old.

As usual, the Alley was bustling with shoppers, children darting between them as they laughed loudly, people were window shopping and children were pressed up against the glass of the shops, watching the window displays in awe. Small stall owners shouted their prices and products, gaining the attention of passersby and shopping bags floated behind their buyers. The sun shone down, gleaming on the windows and she caught sight of Fred and George’s shop, but how couldn’t she with the orange and magenta colours blinding her?

Happy. Free. Wonderful.

Those are the words that sprang to mind to describe Diagon Alley in its prime.

“What do you think, pups?”

They turned to her, wide-eyed and mouths open and suddenly they burst into speech, talking over each other and waving their hands about excitedly. She chuckled at them and when they took a breath, she linked her arms through theirs and joined the crowd, heading straight towards the potions supply shop.

When she entered the pups grimaced and covered their noses. She had to admit, the rotten eggs and cabbage smell even made her feel sick and she didn’t envy the boys and their sensitive smell.

“I’ll be quick, I promise,” she told them.

With that, she removed her arms from theirs and they followed her through the aisles as she collected jars of what she needed, she was buying in bulk as it was cheaper and most of the ingredients had a fairly decent expiration date, so she wouldn’t need to purchase them for a while afterwards. The pups carried some for her and others she had them following as they floated behind them. After close to thirty minutes, they placed everything on the counter.

“Hello, Miss. Granger,” Frank spoke with a smile.

“Hello, Frank, how have you been?” She asked the one-hundred and forty-five-year-old man behind the counter. His white hair fell to his shoulders and his green eyes were swallowed up by wrinkles but Hermione could still see the kind sparkle that reminded her of Seth.

“Better now that you’re back,” he grinned.

Hermione laughed softly. “I’m not back, Frank, I’m only visiting. I have a few errands to run and let’s face it, you have the best quality ingredients here, and are one of the best procurers.”

His pale face flushed. “You are too kind to an old man.”

“You’re not old, you’re wise.”

“Yes, wise, I like that better.” She chuckled at him. “Where have you moved to?” He asked her curiously.

“America,” she said vaguely.

“And is one of these young men your boyfriend.”

Hermione chuckled and looped her arms through theirs. “Nope, they’re only thirteen.”

His eyes widened and he spluttered, obviously looking them up and down.

“Genetics,” Hermione shrugged whilst the pups looked sheepish.

He cleared his throat. “I am terribly sorry for what Mr. Weasley did to you.”

Hermione raised her eyebrow. “I’ve been told the newspapers are blaming me, calling me a homewrecker.”

“Yes, I don’t believe a word of it,” he huffed. “You would never do what you are being accused of. Half the population knows this and the other half are idiots.” Hermione laughed at him. “The timeline doesn’t fit; you were with Mr. Weasley for nine months whilst he was with that Brown girl for only seven. It is obvious who’s at fault. And I pity that poor child, having parents such as those two,” he shook his head sadly.

“I came out on top,” she smiled and he looked at her curiously. “I’ve met someone.”

“Does he treat you well?” He asked, looking concerned.

“Yes, Frank, he does, far better than I deserve.”

“Seth worships the ground you walk on, Hermione,” Brady cut in.

“Yeah, he loves you, you’re all he talks about, the others are always teasing him,” Collin added and Hermione’s cheeks heated slightly.

Frank nodded in approval at their words.

“Your secret’s safe with me, Miss. Granger,” Frank winked at her and she smiled at him. She took her bags, of which there were many and she shrunk them down and put them in her pocket.

“Well, that’s all I pretty much came here for, would you like to have a look around?” She asked the pups as they stepped out of the shop. Their wide eyes were all the confirmation she needed.

So, for the next hour the pups dragged her towards shops that seemed to interest them, Hermione would tell them what it was and what they sold and if they were still interested, they looked around inside.

“We’ll just make a quick stop here.”

“What’s Madam Malkin’s?” Brady asked.

“A clothing shop.” They both looked horrified and she laughed at them. “Don’t worry, I hate clothes shopping, too, but I need to pick something up,” she said as she pulled them inside.

“Miss/ Granger,” Madam Malkin all but tripped over herself to reach her. “How may I help you?” Her eyes gleamed, in hopes of plenty of galleons being spent, as well as gossip on her failed relationship.

“Hello, Madam Malkin,” Hermione said politely. “I’m in need of a few robes suitable for potion brewing.”

“Of course, any particular colour?”

“I would like two black, one white, one red and one blue, please. I am the same size as before.”

“Coming right up,” she turned to leave.

“And,” Hermione added, and she turned back around to Hermione, looking hopeful that she was about to spend more money than she’d thought. “Brady and Collin are in need of some robes, too,” she gestured to them in turn.

Her eyes roamed the pups and they shifted uncomfortably. Hermione’s eyes narrowed, recognising that look in the woman’s eyes.

“I wouldn’t be having those thoughts Madam,” Hermione warned.

“Thoughts?” She said innocently.

“Not only are they under my care, they’re thirteen-years-old.”

Madam Malkin looked ill at the reveal, though she did give them a disbelieving once over again.

“If you’d just follow me please and we’ll get you measured,” she spoke, after pulling herself together.

After standing on the podium and being measured, Madam Malkin asked which colours they’d prefer.

The pups each chose a simple black and a simple white and thankfully, the order was completed quickly and Hermione paid for the robes and then left the shop.

“We get our own robes?” Brady asked excitedly.

“I should hope so, they’re not going to fit me,” she chuckled in reply and they beamed at her. “You can’t be a potion’s apprentice without robes,” she told them.

“Hermione, what’s that place?”

Hermione chuckled as she knew exactly what they were pointing out, even without looking.

“Remember my brothers, Fred and George?”

“The pranksters,” Collin nodded, looking excited. “That’s their joke store?”

“It is,” she replied amused.

“Can we go inside?”

“Of course, no doubt the twins would be upset if we didn’t.”

Hermione led them to the bright orange door and the minute it opened, sound filled their ears and their sight was assaulted with people crowded in the room and products lining the walls and shelves and even some floating in the air. A cannonball let out a bang and was thrown through the air and before it smashed into a display case, it disappeared, before another bang was heard.

“Whoa, this place is awesome!” They whispered, showing their true awe. Out of all the shops they had seen, this was their favourite and she knew it.

“Princess!”

Hermione looked up, seeing Fred and George stood on the balcony overlooking the shop floor. They had large grins on their faces and their arms were spread out wide in expectance of a hug.

“That is Fred and George,” Hermione explained to the pups as she pulled them through the crowd and up the stairs.

She was swooped up by Fred and into a hug and she laughed before she was passed to George.

“We missed you,” they both grinned at her as she stepped back.

“I missed you, too,” she said truthfully. Their eyes caught the pups and they widened slightly before narrowing in intimidation.

“So, which one is Seth?” Fred asked innocently.

“Neither,” she rolled her eyes, “Stop trying to scare the pups.”

“Pups?” They questioned, tilting their heads to the side and looking confused.

“Yes, _pups_ , this is Collin and Brady, they’re thirteen.”

They blinked.

“You sure?” George questioned and she nodded. “If they look like that and they’re thirteen, I can’t even imagine what this Seth looks like,” he spoke, obviously referring to their size.

“Yes, they’re thirteen, once they phase their bodies transform to their physical peak, so whilst they may look to be in their late teens, maybe early twenties, they’re only thirteen. Seeing as they are so young, they’re smaller than the rest of the pack, so they may get bigger as they age. Seth’s six-foot-one and has more muscle than the pups, and he’s almost seventeen.”

“Is it too early to start the cradle robber jokes?” Fred asked his twin, who smirked in reply.

Hermione glared at them. “Don’t even think about it, the only reason you’re still walking is that the pups are here and I don’t want them witnessing what I’m going to do to you for that stunt you pulled.”

They laughed nervously and gulped.

“So, boys, how ‘bout a tour?” They spoke together and left before they could answer.

Hermione’s mouth twitched in victory.

~000~000~000~

“I like them, they’re cool,” Brady grinned as they left the shop with an overflowing bag in his arms, of which were filled with products Hermione said were only to be used on the pack or Harry and the Weasleys, if she ever allowed them to visit, that is. They agreed and Fred and George refused to take payment, making Hermione scowl, so the pups each left with a bag of free goodies. 

“Me too,” Collin agreed.

“They’re a pain and they’re hard work, but their good men and they have good hearts,” she told them. She spotted the Magical Menagerie and with a smile, she pulled Collin and Brady in that direction.

“Where are we going, Hermione?” Brady asked.

“Well, I’ve been thinking for some time now that I need an owl, I can’t keep relying on Terrence or Crystal since they only come when they have a letter for me.”

By the time she left the shop, she had an owl cage shrunken down and a bag of goodies for her new owl placed in her pocket whilst the owl itself perched on her shoulder.

She had purchased a beautiful snowy owl with snow-white feathers and indigo coloured eyes. The owl had taken an immediate shine to her, hooting and flapping his wings to get her attention and it nipped at her finger affectionately when she approached it.

The sales assistant had been about to warn her that the owl was particularly vicious and didn’t care for anyone, usually attacking those that got too close. When she saw the owl’s reaction to Hermione, the sales assistant all but begged her to take the “little demon” and Hermione wasn’t going to say no, she’d fallen in love the moment she’d seen him.

And the owl wasn’t vicious; he was a good judge of character, just like her Crookshanks had been.

“What should we call him, pups?” She asked as they walked down the alley which was slowly beginning to empty since the night was approaching and shops would soon be closing.

“Benny?” Collin offered and the owl hooted in disapproval.

“Max?” Brady suggested. Once again the owl hooted, looking affronted at the suggestion.

They continued for a few minutes unsuccessfully – Milo, Conan, Pluto, Hunter, Marshall, Finley, to name a few, but the owl hooted them off.

“How about Shadow?” Brady asked, after looking down at the ground and catching their shadows in the setting sun. The owl didn’t hoot, instead, he tilted his head to the side as if contemplating the name.

“Shadow?” Hermione repeated and this time he hooted and rubbed his head against her cheek. She chuckled and reached up to pet his head. “Shadow, it is,” she nodded and the boys beamed. “I’m hungry, pups?”

They nodded sheepishly and she chuckled. “I know the perfect place for dinner and if we hurry, we can make Honeydukes before closing.”

“What’s Honeydukes?” Collin asked.

“You’ll see,” Hermione smiled.

~000~000~000~

“This is my favourite place in the world,” Brady whispered, his eyes darting about the shelves filled with boxes and jars of wizarding confectionary.

“Mine too,” Hermione nodded. “Have a look around, if there’s anything you’re not sure of, just let me know. I have a few things to locate.”

Luckily, they had found everything they wished to as the owner kicked them out half an hour later, their arms carrying several bags which Hermione shrunk down and placed into her pocket.

She led them to the Three Broomsticks, which was fairly quiet for a Friday, but she supposed it was still early evening and she left the pups and Shadow at a corner table before she headed to the bar.

“Hermione!” Rosemerta greeted warmly and she leaned over the bar to hug her.

“It’s good to see you, Rosie,” Hermione smiled.

“You’ve been gone far too long, you must visit me more often. I hear you moved, not that I blame you, I refuse to serve Mr. Weasley or Miss. Brown.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Hermione responded.

“Us women have got to stick together,” she winked at her. “So, what can I get you and where did you move to?”

“I would like three butterbeers, a chicken and rice and two lamb and roast potatoes please.”

“Coming right up,” she smiled.

“I moved to America.”

“Someplace nice?”

“Not as far as the weather goes, similar to here, in fact, which I suppose makes it feel more like home. The people I’ve surrounded myself with, they’re kind and friendly.”

“Have you gotten yourself a boyfriend?” She eyed up the pups in the back corner with the owl.

“That’s Collin and Brady, they’re thirteen, I know, good genetics,” Hermione shrugged when her eyes widened. “And yes, I do have a boyfriend now.”

“Handsome?”

“Yes. His eyes are a killer,” she sighed and Rosemerta laughed at her.

“His name?”

“Seth.”

“Age?”

“Almost seventeen.”

“Muggle?”

“Not exactly.”

That earned her a raised eyebrow,

“Wizard?”

“No.”

“My, my, interesting,” Rosemerta said with a thoughtful frown. “How’s he treat you?”

“Better than I deserve. He’s just... _Perfect_.”

Rosemerta smiled. “You love him,” she stated.

“I do, I don’t know what I’d do without him, he’s my saviour,” she admitted.

“Well, you must bring your saviour to meet me one day.”

“I will, I promise.”

Rosemerta handed over the butterbeers and the meals would be brought over when they were cooked. “Before I forget, can I get two crates of butterbeer and a crate of fire whiskey to go, as well as a few meals that will last a couple of weeks?”

“Still can’t cook?” She asked knowingly. 

“My fire detection alarms are still fully functional.”

Rosemerta laughed at Hermione and she headed back to the pups.

“What is this stuff?” Collin asked, picking up the butterbeer and smelling it.

“Butterbeer, a classic wizarding drink. And don’t worry, you’re allowed to drink it, most thirteen-year-olds have their first here, it’s tradition.”

“It’s nice but weird,” Brady frowned after taking a sip.

“Warming you up from the inside?” They nodded. “It’s supposed to do that. Now, we’ll eat our dinner but I’m afraid we’ll have to head back afterwards.” They looked disappointed. “Don’t worry, my little pups, we’ll visit again soon, I promise.”


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 6

**Sunday 2nd July 2006**

“Your bones have had a week to re-grow, heal and strengthen and I’m happy in the decision that you’re no longer on bed rest,” Hermione spoke to Jacob, as she sat on the bed next to him. He smiled at the news. “But, I want you to be very careful for the next week and don’t run unless you have to, especially in your wolf form, I don’t want the extra weight putting pressure on your body, your bones are still new. Now, let’s see if you can walk.”

She hopped off the bed and he swung his body around and his feet touched the floor. Despite her nonexistent strength, she held her hands out and he took them, using her as an anchor as he stood up. He wobbled slightly before taking his first step and after five more, Hermione was smiling at him.

She released his hands and he wobbled but quickly found his balance and she walked backwards in front of him, her wand in hand and ready to catch him if he fell as they walked to the living room, where the pack had convened and were keeping themselves occupied. Her tent had become somewhat of a hangout space for the pack recently, not that she complained, she liked having the company.

As they entered, everyone started clapping, cheering and whistling as Jacob was slowly able to walk faster and steadier with every step he took. Hermione helped to lower him onto the couch and the applause died down.

“You’ve got yourself a genius,” Jacob commented in Seth’s direction and he beamed in response, pulling Hermione to sit in his lap in the armchair. She rolled her eyes at him as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to lean against him and the others chuckled.

“I know; she’s a miracle worker.”

“Actually, the potions and your healing abilities did all the work; I just enforced your bed rest,” she shrugged.

“Enforced being the right word,” Jacob replied and the others sniggered. “You’re terrifying when you want to be.”

“Why does everyone say that?” She huffed.

“Because it’s true,” a voice snorted. Everyone turned to the tent entrance as Harry walked in unexpectedly.

“Harry, what are you doing here?” Hermione asked with a smile and moving away from Seth to hug him.

“I finished work early and thought I’d visit, besides, Kingsley’s here.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise, Harry,” the Minister chuckled as he entered the tent.

“Minster,” Hermione greeted with a smile. “Ow! What the bloody hell was that for?” She demanded, glaring at Harry and rubbing her sore head.

“What’s my name, Hermione?” Kingsley asked amusedly.

“Kingsley,” she huffed and crossed her arms in annoyance as the others chuckled at them. “To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit?”

“I need your assistance with something.”

“And that is?”

“The new laws regarding the Werewolf Rights Act are officially coming into effect as of 10th August.” Hermione beamed at the knowledge. “I wish for you to look over the regulations and see if the Magical Law Department missed anything, we can’t trust the Wizengamot.” Hermione nodded in agreement. “If there is anything you believe has been missed from the law and is beneficial to the werewolf race, I wish for you to add it to the legislation.”

“When do you need it by?” Hermione asked with an excited gleam in her eyes as she took the pile of paperwork from him, the weight of it weighing her arms down.

“Yesterday,” Kingsley answered.

“I’ll get right on it then.”

She set the paperwork down on the coffee table and took a seat on the ground, a quill and a bottle of red ink appearing out of nowhere as she started reading through the two-hundred and twenty-three page document.

They heard a sudden crash and the pack blinked when all three wizarding folk were suddenly by the entrance of the tent with their wands in hand and in a defensive position.

They stood and followed them out of the tent and they observed in surprise as Hermione silently nodded to Harry and he silently nodded to Kingsley, and they separated, Hermione going forward, Kingsley to the left and Harry to the right. It was like watching a tactical SWAT mission.

“ _Stupefy_ ,” the three chorused together, their spells hitting their targets as they stepped out of the cover of the trees.

“Oh, for Merlin’s Sake!” Hermione threw her hands up in the air and turned to Harry and Kingsley. “What the hell are they doing here?”

“I don’t know, ask them,” Harry replied.

She sighed and muttered under her breath.

“You pack one hell of a punch,” they heard a grumble and two identical redheads stood up, dusting off their magenta robes.

Understanding settled in Seth after seeing photos of them from Hermione, he knew they were the prankster twins, Fred and George, of which she was always talking about. And Collin and Brady confirmed it was them when they muttered their names to the confused pack since they’d met the twins a couple of days ago.

“Fred and George,” Brady informed the pack.

“The ones that slipped that...”

“Yes,” Seth growled, interrupting Paul and the pack smirked whilst the pups looked confused.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Hermione demanded.

“Do you hear that, Freddie, I would say that our delightful Miss. Granger isn’t pleased to see us?”

“She must be coming down with something, we both know our presence is craved by all, she’s a lucky girl to have us come all this way to see her, we wouldn’t do this for just anyone,” the other twin spoke, smirking at her and she heard the pack sniggering.

She sighed. “Of course, I’m happy to see you.”

“How ‘bout you show us some love then? Rather than this hostility you usually save for the Bouncing Ferret?”

Harry laughed and she smiled, moving forward so she could hug them.

“That’s more like it, there’s our Warrior Princess,” Fred spoke and she rolled her eyes, pulling free of their hug.

“What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

They grinned. “Well, we thought it about time we meet this shape-shifting boyfriend, of course, we need to see if he’s worthy of our little sister,” George said.

“And to see if he’ll pass the test,” Fred shared a smirk with George.

“No, you will leave him alone,” Hermione warned. “He’s not prepared for dealing with the two of you. Hell, _I’m_ not even prepared for you being here. How did you find me?”

“Ah, well, we may have placed a Tracking Spell on Harry’s port-key when he slipped out of his office for lunch,” Fred spoke, having the grace to look sheepish and she glared at him. “It took us a while to find you, we ended up in the middle of the desert, then in one of those port-a-toilet things, and then we almost got flayed alive by a wild dragon before we arrived here,” he grimaced and she smirked.

“That’s what you get for breaking into Harry’s office,” she said smugly. “Surely you must know that I gave Harry a list of anti-tracking measures to place on port-keys.”

“Well, we do _now_. But now that we know where you are, we can port-key here whenever we want,” George shrugged.

“You better send warning first,” she told them.

“You’re not objecting to us visiting you more often?” Fred raised an eyebrow.

“No, I’m not, I was just hesitant in case Ron somehow managed to find where I was.”

“Oh, believe me, Mia, he’s _very_ busy at the moment,” George grinned and Fred smirked as he folded his arms over his chest whilst George put his hands in his pockets and leaned against a tree.

“What did you do?” She was almost scared to ask, seeing the looks on their faces.

“You know how Ron’s afraid of spiders?”

It was a rhetorical question but she answered anyway.

“Fred, thanks to you, Wizarding Britain knows of his phobia after that stunt you pulled in his office.”

“Still proud of that one,” George grinned at Fred.

“I agree, one of our best yet,” he nodded.

She sighed. “What did you do?”

“Well, every time our dear little brother gets within five feet of any of mum’s food, all he sees is it crawling with spiders, it’s an illusion, there’s nothing there. We slipped something into his drink the other day and we have no idea how long it’ll take to wear off, it’s still in its testing phase,” said Fred.

“And, every time he gets within five feet of Lav-Lav, he gets physically sick. We thought it about time he got a feel of what we do when we see them playing tonsil Quidditch,” finished George.

Harry and Hermione both grimaced, Harry having seen it on a regular occurrence and Hermione remembering it from school.

“Not a pleasant sight,” she shivered.

“I was this close,” he lifted his hand and held his thumb and pointer finger close together, “To digging out my eyeballs with a spoon, and let’s face it, we can’t have Fred thinking he’s the handsome twin.”

“Oi, I am handsome,” Fred argued.

“Not as handsome as me,” George gloated.

“We’re identical you prat!”

Hermione giggled and they turned to her, their faces softening at the sound. They couldn’t remember the last time they had heard her do that. They also heard the pack sniggering and they turned to look at them, their eyes widening at the size of them.

“You weren’t kidding about their size,” George nodded in their direction. “We thought the pups were huge, but bloody hell, that’s just taking the piss.”

Hermione snorted at him.

“So, Mia, which one is the boyfriend?” Fred asked with a gleam to his eyes.

“I suppose I better introduce you, be nice,” she warned.

“With that, I’ll take my leave, I’ll come by on Wednesday to collect the papers,” Kingsley spoke and she smiled and nodded and the wizarding folk said their goodbyes to him before he left.

Hermione led the way over to the pack with a warning glare to the twins and Harry remained quiet with an amused smile on his face at what was about to happen.

“Everyone, these are my older twin brothers,” she introduced.

“Fred and George Weasley, at your service,” Fred said as they stepped forward, bowing in their typical joyful and goofy manner.

“Brilliant, ingenious, world-renowned pranking extraordinaires, at your service,” George added and they rose to full height.

She rolled her eyes at them. “Also known as, Fred and George,” she said, making the pack chuckle.

“So, which one is the boyfriend?” The twins chorused, rubbing their hands together with a mischievous smirk on their faces.

In unison, the pack turned to Seth, who shifted on his feet nervously.

“Boys,” she said, gaining their attention and she pointed out the pack members as she named them. “The pups, Collin and Brady, you’ve met, we have Sam their Alpha, Jared, Paul, Embry, Quil, Jacob, Leah and finally, Seth.”

They took in his size and physique with a raised eyebrow.

“So, Seth,” Fred began and the pack stepped away from him, watching in amusement as the twins began circling him, even Leah looked to be fighting off a smile.

“What are your intentions towards our Warrior Princess?” Picked up George.

“Do you plan to hurt her? Because, honestly, she’ll kick your arse, then you have us to deal with afterwards, we haven’t shown any mercy to our own little brother, so we won’t with you either.”

“Do you treat her like the princess she is?”

“Do you love her?”

“Have you had sex with her?” George asked with a glare and Hermione sighed in annoyance as the pack sniggered, knowing fine well they had.

“Boys,” Hermione called, getting their attention. “You know fine well we have after you slipped me that Lust Potion, and I still haven’t gotten my revenge for that stunt,” she glared at them. “Once again, you’re lucky the pups are present as I don’t wish for them to witness what I’m going to do to you in retaliation.” They gulped and laughed nervously. “Leave him alone, you know fine well how he treats me and you know that Harry approves, that alone is enough for you to like him, too. Stop trying to intimidate him.”

“Must you take the fun out of everything?” George pouted.

“Stop being a baby,” she scoffed.

“Speaking of babies, can we start with the cradle robber jokes yet, we’ve got weeks worth saved up?” Fred asked and the pack shared a look before they burst out laughing.

“Cradle robber,” Embry gasped out through his laughter. “That’s brilliant,” he commented.

“You want to hear some?”

The twins latched onto the attention and just as they were about to launch with the jokes, she stormed over to them and gripped them by the ears and dragged them towards the tent.

“Ow, Mia!” Fred whined.

“That’s my good ear.”

“You only have one,” she shot back.

“That’s why it’s my good ear,” George cried his reply, and the laughter of the pack doubled, even Seth lost his nervous expression and started chuckling, shaking his head. There were in for a treat with the arrival of the twins.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 8

**Sunday 2nd July 2006**

A few minutes later they exited the tent, Hermione smiling victoriously and the twins rubbing their ears with a look of contrite on their faces.

“Hermione said we have to behave ourselves,” Fred muttered, looking like a scolded child.

“I thought it was rather entertaining,” Harry commented amusedly.

Hermione glared at him. “How’s your sex life, Harry?” She asked innocently.

“Sex life?” The twins rounded on him with a deathly glare.

“You do _not_ have a sex life with our little sister!”

Hermione smiled smugly at Harry and he glared at her. The pack didn’t know how much longer they’d be able to deal with the wizarding folk, honestly, they couldn’t remember the last time that they’d had so much fun and their ribs were hurting from laughing uncontrollably.

“If we find out that she’s not a virgin, you’re dead!” Fred warned.

“Actually,” Hermione cut in and they turned to her. “Ginny’s not a virgin,” she said lightly.

“You’re a dead man, Potter,” George growled, pulling his wand along with Fred.

“Actually,” Hermione said again and they turned to her. “She wasn’t a virgin when she started dating Harry.”

“What the hell do you mean?” Fred demanded.

“Harry wasn’t her first,” she shrugged.

“Who? Dean Thomas? We’ll kill him.”

“No, it wasn’t him so leave our fellow Gryffindor alone,” she rolled her eyes. “I believe it was Michael Corner.”

“He’s dead a man!” They growled and looked at each other, a plan forming between the two of them in their unique way of communicating without speaking.

“Yes, he is,” Hermione said softly. They recognised that tone and they slowly put their wands away and the pack immediately stopped laughing as the atmosphere turned sad.

“What happened?” They asked, far calmer now.

“Vampire, he begged Luna to kill him so he wouldn’t change, but she couldn’t do it.”

“So you did,” the twins spoke knowingly.

She nodded sadly and she was scooped up into a hug by the twins.

“You did what was best for him,” George whispered and she sniffled and nodded, pulling back from him.

She crossed over to Seth and he immediately pulled her into him, hugging her against him and she melted into him as he whispered to her, pushed her curls behind her ears and kissed her forehead.

The twins watched them and shared a look, nodding to each other. Hermione smiled against Seth as she saw the interaction.

“No matter what the twins might say or how they may act with you, they approve,” she whispered so he would hear and he squeezed her tighter.

“Should I be expecting a visit from the rest of the gang?” Hermione asked, turning to face them and Seth wrapped his arms around her as she stood in front of him.

“That’s up to you,” George shrugged. “If you wish, we can collect Bill, Fleur and Charlie and bring them to visit, so they can meet your friends and boyfriend without knowing the coordinates of you location.”

“We would bring Percy but he’d crumble under mum’s stare. Considering he told a Death Eater and previous Minister of Magic to go and fuck himself, he’s got no backbone what so ever,” Fred spoke, the other wizarding folk nodded in agreement.

“Fleur’s pregnant,” she reminded them.

“Ah, forgot about that,” Fred scratched his chin.

“There’s a wizarding pub in Port Angeles, she can floo over and I can pick her up in my car, I’m not risking any harm to the baby so there’ll be no apparating or port-keying.”

“Ginny’s been harping on about meeting your boyfriend,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“The only problem with Ginny visiting is that it’s Ginny,” she said. Harry and the twins snorted, knowing exactly what she meant. “I love her but I can only take her in small doses.” They snorted again. “Would she be able to keep it a secret?”

Harry shrugged. “She hasn’t spilled anything else yet.”

“Yet being the operative word. When she gets mad she can’t control herself or the words that come flying out of her mouth.” Harry nodded, conceding her point. “But I do miss her,” she sighed. She tilted her head back to look up at Seth. “What do you think? Do you want to meet my two older brothers, sister-in-law and little sister?”

He smiled down at her. “Of course I do, I think my mother would kill the both of us if she wasn’t allowed to be there when it happened.”

“Mother? You’ve met the parents already, blimey, you work fast,” George teased and she rolled her eyes.

“Yes, I’ve met Sue, and you’d like her, she’s a lot like your mother, only not crazy.”

“Oi, you’re talking about the women that raised us,” Fred warned.

“So she’s not crazy?” She arched her brow.

“Okay, she is,” they both agreed and she snorted.

“So, we’ll set a date to get everyone together. I’ll correspond with Charlie and see when he can get time off from work, and you can talk to Bill. The weather for the next week is supposed to be fairly nice, maybe we could have a barbeque at the beach. Bill will have to be the chef, Charlie burns his food too often, Harry’s done enough cooking to last him a life time, Ginny’s cooking ability is worse than mine and I don’t trust either of you to be anywhere near the food.” They looked at her innocently. “I’m not falling for it,” she told them and they grinned.

“We got an owl from Charlie a few weeks back, he said he was due some time off from work since he’s covered for three of the other Dragon Keepers,” Fred explained.

“Fleur’s on maternity and Bill’s been putting in overtime to cover for one of the Curse Breaker’s at Gringotts since he went away with his girlfriend,” George said. 

“And now that Ginny’s graduated, she has time to visit,” Harry added.

“I thought she had training, the Holyhead Harpies recruited her as a Chaser, didn’t they?” She frowned.

He nodded. “They did, training doesn’t start until November. Quidditch game season is just starting and the league cup final isn’t until 31st August. The players take two months off to rest and recuperate and they start training in November to get ready for the start of game season in July,” Harry explained.

“You’re proud of her, aren’t you?” She smiled.

“’Course, I am, my girlfriend’s a soon-to-be professional Quidditch player,” he grinned and she laughed at him. “By the way, Puddlemere United’s tipped to win the league this year.”

“That’s great,” she said and truly meaning it. “Oliver must be running himself ragged. I hope he’s taking care of himself.”

“I doubt it, you saw what he was like in school,” Fred snorted. “And that was when he was captain of the _school_ team, now he’s the captain of a _professional_ Quidditch team.”

She frowned. “Maybe I should pay him a visit, I don’t care if it’s game season, if I have to I’ll force feed him.”

“Just don’t cook for him, we want to win the league and that’ll be impossible with our dear captain and Keeper six feet under.”

“Ow! That wasn’t kind Mia,” George scowled, rubbing his arm where she’d thrown a Stinging Hex at him. He hadn’t even seen her go for her wand.

“Neither was that comment, George,” she fired back.

“She’s got you there,” Fred laughed.

“Who’s twin are you?” George asked scandalised.

Fred shrugged. “I’m more afraid of her than I am of you.”

“We’re around each other twenty-four-seven,” he reminded him with a look of vengeance in his eyes.

“Exactly, she’s on another continent and I still watch the door every time a brunette walks in the shop. I know what to expect from you, her, I don’t.”

“I see your point, wise choice siding with her,” George nodded in agreement and the others sniggered whilst she rolled her eyes.

“Maybe I should ask Oliver to join us for the day, he needs a day away from training and that gives us even numbers.”

“For what exactly?” Harry asked.

“A pickup game of Quidditch,” she shrugged.

The twins gasped. “I never thought I’d see the day Hermione Granger would suggest a game of Quidditch and she’d willingly watch the match,” Fred said. “George, I think I’m dying, do you see the light, too?“ He said dramatically, making Harry laugh and she scowled at him.

“I’m thinking it’s more for the pack than you.”

“We’re invited?” Paul asked shocked.

“Of course you are, why wouldn’t you be?” She frowned and they stared at her in surprise whilst Seth smiled. “Maybe we can bring along Neville, Dean and Seamus, I haven’t seen them since school.”

“Great idea, with Ginny that’s brings us up to nine players, five more and we can have a proper game of Quidditch,” Fred clapped his hands excitedly.

“How about you bring Lee along?” She offered. “I haven’t seen him since I moved out of your flat.” They nodded. “We just need four more players,” she bit her lip in thought. “I’m not getting on a broom and Fleur’s ruled out because Quidditch is dangerous and I’m not letting any harm come to my niece or nephew. How about Blaise and Theo?”

“Not a chance in hell,” Harry deadpanned. She rolled her eyes.

“Stop being a prat, Harry.”

“They’re Slytherins.”

“And they defected to our side,” she argued. “We got along well in school and we spent quite a bit of time together in the library.”

“We don’t mind,” George interrupted. “They’ve both been in the shop a few times and they seem alright, I doubt the others would mind either.”

Harry gawked at them in shock.

“They struck up a friendship with Neville, Dean and Seamus in school, too. And we’ll need Theo, he’s rather good at Fire Reversal and Protection Charms.” The others started laughing.

“Are we missing something?” Jared frowned. They snorted.

“Seamus has a unique _talent_ of blowing things up. He once just looked at a chicken and it exploded,” she explained and the wizarding folk laughed as they remembered that day and shifters all blinked in shock.

“Alright, that drops us down to two,” Fred said, a thoughtful look on his face.

“I think we need more girls, what do you say, Leah?” Hermione turned to look at her. Leah raised an eyebrow in response. “I know we’re strong women, but there’s too many males and we’ll suffocate in all the testerone, and you haven’t seen them when they play Quidditch. It’s like peacocks strutting around with all the male posturing they do.” Leah snorted in amusement. The twins and Harry shrugged, not admitting it but not denying it either. “How about we invite Katie and Angelina?”

“You want to invite our ex-girlfriends to the barbeque?” Fred raised an eyebrow.

Hermione shrugged. “George, will it be awkward for you and Angelina?”

“No, we broke up five years ago,” he shrugged.

“Fred, will it be awkward for you and Katie?”

“No, we broke up five years ago,” he repeated his twin’s words.

“Then yes, we’ll invite them. I remember them from school, and even though they were older than me and clearly not interested in the things I was, they were kind to me. Would you look at that boys, we’ve got the Gryffindor Quidditch Champion Team back together again.”

They grinned. “Gryffindor against the others?” Harry asked.

Fred and George nodded in agreement. “The others will likely whine about it since everyone but Theo and Blaise are Gryffindors, and they’ll argue that they should be on the team, too.”

“It works out though,” Hermione shrugged. “Harry and Charlie as Seekers, Fred and George, and Theo and Blaise as Beaters, Katie, Angelina and Ginny as Chasers, plus Lee, Dean and Seamus, and Oliver and Bill as Keepers.”

“Now that’s a Quidditch match,” George and Fred high-fived and she laughed at them.

“You guys are in for a treat,” Hermione said to the pack. “Not only are you going to be meeting _very_ colourful characters, you’ll be watching one of the most fast paced, strategic and brutal games to exist.”

“Quidditch isn’t brutal,” the three wizards scoffed in unison.

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

“Would you like the list of injuries?”

“Yes, actually, we would,” Fred and George crossed their arms.

She cleared her throat and held her hand up to count each point off on her fingers. “Harry jumped off his broom and dislocated his shoulder.”

“But I caught the snitch,” he argued.

“Oliver was knocked off his broom and in the hospital wing, unconscious, for two days.”

“But we won the game.”

“Angelina was knocked off her broom and in the hospital wing for five days. Katie had a concussion, Fred, you broke your nose, George, you broke your left hand.”

“See, it’s not that bad,” George said, as the pack stared in surprise.

“This was all in _one_ game. The first game of the season, might I add. And I swear to Merlin himself, if any of you get injured during this game, not only will I not heal you, I will be feeding you to the sharks.”

“So, we’re really doing this?” Harry asked, looking excited, as did the twins. She looked at the pack questioningly and they nodded enthusiastically.

“We’re doing this. Everyone being invited can be trusted, agreed?”

“Well, Zabini and Nott...”

“Shut it, Potter,” Hermione glared.

“Agreed,” the twins smirked at Harry.

“Harry, you’re responsible for Ginny, Neville, Seamus and Dean.” He nodded. “Fred, George, you take Bill, Fleur, Lee, Angelina and Katie.” They nodded. “I’ll take Charlie, Blaise, Theo and Oliver.”

“What makes you think you can convince Oliver to come?” Fred asked curiously.

“He owes me,” she shrugged.

The three wizards started laughing.

“Let me get this straight,” George said. “You saved Oliver’s life in the Final Battle and now he owes you a life debt. You’re calling that debt in by forcing him to take a day off from training and attending a beach party so he can have fun?”

“Exactly, and we both know he’s scared of me after that dementor infested Quidditch match.”

They laughed at the reminder.

“Does someone want to clue us in?” Jacob asked, looking amused.

“During their third year, we lost a Quidditch match due to Harry fainting because the dementors invaded the pitch and tried to kill him,” George explained. “Oliver was pissed we lost and he barricaded himself in the locker room whilst the rest of us where visiting Harry in the hospital wing.”

Fred took over since George started laughing, leaning against a tree for support.

“Next thing we know, Oliver’s being marched into the hospital wing by Hermione, who is barely four-foot-six by this point and Oliver’s six-foot-two. She dragging him in by the ear and she forces him to sit and apologise to Harry.”

“Best thing I’ve ever seen,” Harry nodded.

“What about when she punched Malfoy in the face and broke his nose?” Fred asked, his eyes gleaming. George’s laughter only grew louder.

“I stand corrected. She’s got a wicked right hook, by the way,” Harry informed the pack. “She’s not just frightening when she has a wand.” They looked at her in surprise and she shrugged.

Seth laughed and rested his chin on top of her head.

“So, we’ll try and get everyone together for next week. Use your Patronus for communication between us, it’s much quicker than owl post and with the weather, we’re on a time crunch. I’ll apparate to Port Angeles and floo call Theo, Blaise and Charlie, I’ll visit Oliver tomorrow. Does he have a match?”

They shook their heads. “No, they have one on Tuesday so he’ll be a pain in the arse,” George shrugged.

“Okay, I might floo over to Romania as well then, I haven’t seen Charlie since Ginny’s graduation party and I was only there an hour. He’s got eight baby dragons under his care now and I want to see them, he said he’s named one after me.”

“Oh, yeah?” They asked amused.

“A Chinese Fireball named Mia.” They snorted. “I don’t know if I should be offended or not, since the Fireball’s an aggressive species.”

“They’re also strong, family orientated and protective,” George pointed out. They looked at him surprised. “What? I do listen... Most of the time.”

They rolled their eyes.

“Right then, I suppose we better get planning, I’ll hopefully see you boys next week.”

“It’s gonna be one hell of a party,” promised Fred.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 9

**Friday 7th July 2006**

As Hermione pulled to a stop and turned off the ignition, she turned towards Fleur, a look of concern sweeping over her sickly expression and down to her stomach. The older witch had never been in a car before and it had been a bit of a drive from Port Angeles to La Push, but the witch had been determined not to complain through the journey no matter Hermione's assurances.

"Are you okay, Fleur?" Hermione asked, staring at Fleur's stomach worriedly. Being almost four months along, Fleur's stomach was growing quickly and with her small, thin frame, her baby bump appeared larger than it actually was, making it easy to assume she was further along in her pregnancy.

"Fine, just a little woozy," she said, her French accent coming through but it had lessened slightly over the years.

"The pack's waiting for us, the others are scheduled to arrive in ten minutes. I've yet to place the wards around the beach and some of the pack are scouting the area so I know what radius to mark out."

Fleur smiled in response and followed Hermione's lead as she climbed out of the car before she linked her arm with Hermione's and she led them down the beach until they could see several figures in the distance, setting up blankets, towels and deckchairs, as well as the firepit for later in the evening.

"Hey, boys," Hermione greeted as they neared and they turned and smiled at them. "This is Fleur, my sister-in-law and she's married to Bill. Fleur, here we have Embry, Quil, Jacob, the pups, Brady and Collin, and this is Sam, their Alpha," she introduced and they all smiled at her.

"You're really pretty," Collin said sheepishly.

Fleur's tinkling laughter made them blink in surprise.

"Zank you, you are very kind, but it iz my genetics."

"Genetics?" Embry questioned with a tipped head.

"Fleur's a quarter veela," Hermione explained.

"Really?" Brady asked excitedly. "That's so cool," he whispered and Hermione chuckled, giving her head a shake.

"Just wait untll you meet Bill, he's part werewolf. And Seamus is Irish and Oliver's Scottish, so you probably won't be able to understand what they're saying, we don't half of the time," Hermione shrugged. They snorted and Fleur laughed at her, shaking her head.

They heard several groans and turned to the trees.

"Well, the others are here," Hermione laughed and one by one, everyone emerged from the trees and approached her.

"Neville, Dean, Seamus!" She cried in excitement and she rushed to them, quickly hugging them tightly and they grinned at her, pulling back and making their way over to Fleur. "Lee," she greeted, pulling him into a hug.

"It's been a while, Granger," he ruffled her hair and darted away from her swatting hands.

"Bill," she laughed when she found herself being lifted off her feet, pulled into a hug and spun around in circles.

"It's good to see you," he put her down, looking her over and smiling when saw that she looked happier than he remembered ever seeing her. "So, where's the boyfriend?"

She rolled her eyes and the protective tone to his voice and the steeling look in his eyes.

"Scouting the area, the other residents will be using the beach, too, since the weather's been nice this week. He'll be back shortly."

He nodded and crossed over to Fleur and Theo and Blaise stepped out of the trees, looking like that surly Slytherins they were, that was until they saw her and genuine smiles pulled at their mouths.

"Oi, Granger, what's this I hear about a new boyfriend!?" Theo called to her as they approached and she rolled her eyes but hugged them both, something she still thought amusing as they always appeared uncomfortable when she did so.

"You'll meet him soon, he's just scouting the area with some of the pack, I'll introduce everyone when they get back."

They stepped away as the twins came out with Angelina and Katie, and they greeted before moving back for Harry, who she hugged.

"Hermione!"

She turned seeing the vivid red hair shining in the sun and quickly approaching. Hermione ran to Ginny and laughed as they collided into a hug.

"I've missed you, it's about time you let us visit."

"I had to be cautious of Ron," she shrugged in reply.

"So, where's this _perfect_ boyfriend of yours?"

"Scouting the area, he should be back soon."

"My, my, Hermione, you sure are surrounded by some dishy men." Ginny wiggled her eyebrows.

"You do know they can hear you, right?"

She turned, seeing the pack smiling smugly and they waved in her direction. Hermione laughed at Ginny's shocked face before she shrugged in response. If it was one thing Ginny was not, it was embarrassed.

"Oliver's not far behind me," Ginny called over her shoulder as she made her way over to Harry.

"I'm glad you decided to come of your own free will, I'm not above dragging you here," Hermione said lightly as Oliver approached her and he winced, his hand rubbed at his ear, remembering the incident after the dementor infested Quidditch match.

He shrugged. "Yer right, a need some time away from trainin' tae clear me head, a gave the others the day aff."

"Well, we've got enough players for a match, Gryffindor Champion Team against the others." He grinned in response and they headed over to the others. "We're just waiting for Charlie," Hermione told everyone.

"He said he'd make his own way here, something about not wanting to upset Benji," George shrugged.

"He hasn't," she whispered, looking horrified.

The twins smirked and nodded.

"I have!" A voice called and they turned as one to see Charlie quickly making his way down the beach towards them with something flying behind him in the distance, shimmering in the sun.

"What is that?" Jacob asked, squinting his eyes to better make it out.

"He's brought a bloody dragon with him!?" Hermione's voice rose into a squeak. "There's going to be muggles here, we're just waiting for Seth's mother and Jacob's father to arrive."

"Relax, Hermione," Charlie rolled his eyes, coming to a stop by the gathered group. "Benji wouldn't harm a fly."

"No, he'd roast it alive and then eat it," she glared at him.

Charlie shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets. "He won't go far," he replied, watching as the tiny Anti-Opaleye dragon flew over the sea and dived in, emerging with a fish in his mouth before he flew over to them and landed on Charlie's shoulder, perching there happily. Since Benji was still a newborn, he wasn't much bigger than two loaves of bread.

"See? Besides, he's taken a shine to you and he hasn't been the same since you visited."

"He probably thinks she's his mother," Bill injected, amused. "She was the first female he saw after hatching."

She scowled at him.

"Is that a..."

They turned as they saw Sue pushing Billy's wheelchair down the beach and they stared at the dragon on Charlie's shoulder in awe and amazement.

Hermione sighed before sending Charlie an annoyed glance. "Yes, it's a dragon, two-weeks-old."

"See, how many muggles get the chance to see a real-life dragon?" Charlie said innocently. "I did it for them."

"Of course you did," she said flatly.

A chorus of howls was heard and he magical folk looked around in surprise, searching for the culprits.

"It's the signal, they're just changing back," Jacob explained and moments later, Paul, Jared, Leah and Seth emerged from the trees and with them no longer expecting anyone, Hermione quickly introduced everyone.

"... And this, is Seth, my boyfriend," she said, walking to him and he wrapped his arm her shoulders and smiled at everyone.

Katie, Angelina, Fleur and Ginny all grinned at Hermione and wiggled their eyebrows.

"Don't even bother," she warned them, knowing exactly what they were thinking and likely planning to say to embarrass her. "Sue is Seth's mother and Leah's his sister." They smirked at her but kept their mouths shut.

"Just one question," Ginny said, her gaze flying between Hermione and Seth. "What in the name of Godric did you ever see in my idiot brother?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "Good question, I must've still been dazed from the fact that we'd won the war," she answered and they sniggered at her. She then turned to twins. "And I swear to Merlin, if you start with the cradle robbing jokes, I'm not above turning my wand on you," she warned Fred and George, as the others sniggered again, knowing how frightening she could be and what she was capable of.

"You said you wouldn't hurt us in front of the pups," George nodded in their direction.

"I'm not above hexing you in front of them, but I can always ask them to close their eyes for the more gruesome spells in my armoury."

"Don't push her," Charlie said amusedly, even as Benji was still perched on his shoulder. "I doubt Benji would mind practicing his fire breathing on you if she asked."

As if to prove his point, Benji flew off his shoulder and over to Hermione, perching on her shoulder and wrapping his tail around her neck, giving a tiny, cute roar and then nuzzling his nose against her cheek affectionately. Seth leaned away from her slightly, watching the dragon warily as she reached up to scratch his scaly head.

"That's weird," Paul commented, partially amused, partially freak out by what he was witnessing.

"Not really," Charlie shrugged. "Not all dragons are violent by nature, we have aggressive and non-aggressive breeds, their temperament depends on whether they are wild or if they've been hatched and reared in captivity. If they've been treated well and looked after, they'll show you loyalty and love," he explained, nodding to the purring dragon with his eyes closed as he revelled in Hermione's gentle touch. "Bearing in mind, Benji's barely two-weeks-old, still a newborn and he hasn't had time to be treated badly. His mother abandoned him so he's being hand-reared. Unfortunately, he'll never able to survive in the wild."

"Poor Dear," Sue said sadly, looking at the tiny dragon with awed but saddened expression.

"So, was the area clear?" Hermione asked, drawing their attention.

Jared nodded. "We've got some kids on the beach about two miles east and one mile west."

"Plenty enough space for a game of Quidditch," she assured them. "Right everyone, let's get the wards up. Oliver, you can set the hoops up, Harry, ready the equipment. Theo, Blaise, can you do the wards and Silencing Charms, please?"

They nodded and set to their tasks and ten minutes later, Charlie appeared beside her, hovering on his broom and the pack, Sue and Billy stared in awe. Charlie held his hand out to her expectantly.

"No, not a chance in hell," she stepped back and folded her arms over her chest.

"You're the only one that knows the spell work to stop the game from going out of the boundaries lines."

"I'll teach Fred and George to do it," she argued.

"It'll take hours to perfect the spell," Harry called, sidling up next to Charlie on his own broom. "And you and I both know how long a Quidditch match can last; we need all the time we can get. You'll fly with Charlie and I'll be nearby, if you were to fall I'd catch you."

"Oh, that makes me feel _so_ much better," she scoffed.

"Do you honestly believe I'd let you fall?" Charlie arched his brow at her. "I fly on the back of dragons for a living."

She scowled and seeing the expectant looks on the wizarding folks' faces, she took a deep breath and climbed on the broom in front of Charlie, letting out a loud shriek as he kicked off the ground and he flew up into the air far too quickly for her liking.

"CHARLIE!" She screamed and the others chuckled at her from the ground, as the pack and muggles blinked slowly, trying to process what they were witnessing.

"She's going to kill him when they get back on the ground," Bill laughed.

Twenty minutes later, Hermione jumped off the broom before they'd even halted to a complete stop and she collapsed to the floor, looking pale and glaring at Charlie.

"I hate you."

"No, you don't, you love me; we both know I'm your favourite brother," he replied smugly, flipping his shaggy hair over his shoulder arrogantly.

"I am!" A chorus of voices spoke and the Weasley boys glared at each other.

They chatted and joked happily and they watched amazed as displays of magic were being given, as Bill readied the food on the magical barbeque they had brought with them and handing out butterbeers and muggle beverages as they ate. Once the food was gone and everyone had been fed and were happy, Hermione said,

"Can we get on with the game now? If it's anything like the last pick up game, we'll be here a while."

The players nodded and after arguing over teams, they separated and pulled their brooms from their pockets and after changing the colour of their shirts so those on the ground could distinguish between the teams, they mounted their brooms and took to the sky. Hermione handed binoculars to Sue, Billy, Neville and Fleur as the pack could already see with their far superior eyesight.

"Hermione! Yer the ref!" Oliver called from the air.

"I don't bloody well think so!" She called back in protest.

"Stop being a witch and be the bloody referee!" Blaise called. She scowled.

"But I _hate_ Quidditch!"

"You still know the rules better than anyone!" Harry argued.

"Just do it, I'm growing old up here!" Ginny yelled.

"Fine!" She growled and she rose to her feet angrily. Benji, who perched on her shoulder, gave a noise of disapproval at being jostled. "Sorry Benji," she muttered apologetically.

She moved to the chest that contained the snitch, quaffle and bludgers and she made to release them.

"What are you doing!?" Fred called. "You need to be in the air to be able to see everything!"

"Not a chance in hell!" She glared up at the hovering players, not that they could see.

"If someone gets knocked off their broom, we need you up here, Granger!" Angelina called.

"I hate all of you!" She shouted before she moodily stalked to the pile of spare brooms that had been brought along.

"You don't have to do this," Seth said softly, walking over to her.

"Yes, she does," Neville and Fleur chorused and she turned to glare at them. They merely shrugged in response.

"They're not going to start the game without you up there," Neville told her.

"They know I hate heights," she all but pouted.

"Have you thought that maybe that's why they're making you be the ref?" He raised an eyebrow. "To help you overcome your fear?"

"That's the whole point of it being my biggest fear, I'm afraid of it," she glared and he shrugged.

"Stop stalling," Fleur's musical voice chimed.

Hermione took a deep breath and gripped the broom before mounting it.

"You'll be fine, I doubt they'd let anything happen to you," Seth said softly.

"They wouldn't," she breathed out. "Benji, you're going to have to find purchase elsewhere, I'm afraid. And stay away from the match, you're not strong or fast enough to avoid getting hit with a bludger yet." He made a sound of disapproval but flew off her shoulder and landed on the deckchair beside Fleur, making himself comfortable and curling up into a ball.

"He's surprisingly docile," Sue commented, looking as though she were restraining herself from reaching out and touching him.

"He's still a baby," Hermione shrugged. "His temperament will change as he grows and he'll become grumpier until he's matured and mated."

She looked up at the sky apprehensively.

"You'll be fine," Seth repeated softly. She nodded despite not looking convinced and Seth smiled and kissed her cheek.

She smiled at him and he stepped back. Despite her previous comments about being a rubbish flyer, Seth couldn't see it. She kicked off the ground and shot up high into the sky within moments and without any issues. Seth blinked slowly before snorting and returning to his seat amongst the rest of the pack.

Hermione conjured a whistle and blew it, gaining the attention of the others in the air. She held her wand up to her throat and cast a _Sonorous_ so everyone would be able to hear.

"Before we begin, I want a nice, clean game. The rules stand, as usual, if I decide you are out of the match, then you are, no arguments. If I see any fouling, you will be given a warning and the opposing team will be allowed a penalty. Understood?" She questioned and they all nodded. "Then let's begin, Captains, shake hands," she instructed. Bill and Oliver shook each other's hands with some teasing and taunting thrown to each other. "Players, take your positions."

When Hermione was satisfied, she shot a spell at the chest and everything was released. The game began and Ginny took possession of the quaffle, quickly passing it Angelina, who dropped it down to Katie, who darted out of the way of a bludger Blaise sent in her direction. She dropped the quaffle but Ginny picked it up before Dean had the chance to and she approached the hoops and threw the quaffle, it went straight through the left hoop, Bill just missing it.

"Ten points to Gold!" Neville's voice called through a _Sonorous_ , as he was given the task of being the commentator to make everything as realistic as possible for not only the muggles but the wizarding folk, too.

~000~000~000~

The game had been going for nearly two hours and her body had gone numb from being in the air too long. She couldn't see the reactions of the pack or Sue and Billy, but their voices carried in the wind and she could hear cheers and applause and yells of shock and disappointment.

The Gryffindor Champion Team, also known as Gold, were winning by a landslide, but no one expected anything different with Ginny, Oliver, Harry and the twins all on one team. They were up to two hundred points whilst the opposing team, Red, were currently on fifty points. And despite the fact they were losing terribly, no one complained and they were having a good time.

And there hadn't yet been any injuries but there had been a few near misses, which had Hermione holding her breath and scolding them for not being more careful afterwards. And it seemed the pack had quickly caught onto the rules of the game with some of them shouting when a foul was committed, and with Fleur and Neville on the ground they had likely been describing the sport and its rules during the game for their benefit.

Hermione called a time out to allow for a ten minute break since they'd been playing nonstop for two hours and everyone flew down to the ground to have a drink and stretch their legs and rub at their sore and cramped hands.

"What do you think of Quidditch?" She asked them as she dismounted her broom and Seth noticed that she wasn't pale or shaking, in fact, she looked completely fine with her flushed cheeks and windswept hair.

She laughed at the onslaught of excited comments she received.

An hour later and they had long since been back in the air and continuing with the game.

"Blimey," Charlie called. "You're harder to beat than Voldemort!" he laughed.

And suddenly Hermione's wand started buzzing widely in her hand and a loud siren sounded.

The game immediately halted to a stop and everyone turned to her for answers.

"DEATH EATERS!"


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Friday 7th July 2006**

As if on cue, everyone flew down to the ground and dismounted their brooms, dropping them carelessly to the ground. Neville and Fleur stood and looked around worriedly as Hermione cancelled the alarm and started waving her wand and muttering under her breath, Harry doing the same beside her.

“Shit!” They both cursed and they turned to face everyone, the confused pack and muggles and the worried wizarding folk.

“There must be a Taboo on his name!” Hermione realised. “Nobody say it,” she warned.

“How many?” Bill asked, his wand in hand and ready for a fight, the others mirroring his demeanour.

“Thirty, at least,” Harry grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I thought there were only nine left,” Fred frowned.

“Nine inner circle members that we knew of,” Hermione corrected.

“How long?” Asked George.

“A few minutes at most, they’ve likely locked onto our magical signatures within the wards.”

“Plan?” Charlie questioned, everyone looking to Harry and Hermione expectantly.

The pack watched as the two teens looked to each other and nodded before they turned to everyone, an unspoken plan formed between them.

“Charlie, Oliver, Ginny, you’re our best fliers, I want you up in the air and on offence, be under the cover of Disillusionment Charms,” Hermione instructed and they nodded.

“Fred, George, Bill, you’re to remain on the ground with Hermione and me, you’re our best duellers,” Harry instructed and they nodded.

“Theo, Blaise, I want you to place as many wards that you know by the tree lines, that’s likely where they’ll approach from as it gives them cover. Keep them away from us as long as possible,” Hermione said and they nodded, quickly heading to the tree line to do as she asked.

“Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lee,” Harry said, “We need the numbers, you’ll be on the ground duelling with us but we want you under Disillusionments, covering us.” They all nodded.

“What about us?” Angeline piped up.

“Katie, Angelina, you’re on protective duty, we don’t have enough time to get everyone out of here and to safety, and they may lock onto your signatures and follow you, we can’t risk them going near the residents of the Tribe. We need to keep them contained here; there’s still likely people on the beach.”

“What the hell is going on?” Sam finally demanded, after listening to Hermione and Harry giving out orders to the others, as if it were a regular occurrence.

She turned to him and the look on her face said it wasn’t good.

“We estimate that thirty Death Eaters have found us,” she explained calmly. “They’re no more than a few minutes out and we don’t have time to get you all to safety. As a result, I need you to be protected. Katie and Angelina will form a protective shield around the pack, Benji and Fleur to keep you from harm.”

“We can help,” Jacob offered and the pack nodded in agreement.

“No,” she shook her head vehemently. “It’s too dangerous, you’ve no idea what we’re up against. We’re outnumbered but we’ve faced worse odds. We’ve survived a war, we’ll survive this. I want you with Katie and Angelina. If things spiral out of control and we need your help, I’ll let you know, but for now, I need you safe, _all_ of you.” She looked at a worried Sue and Billy. “Move closer to the shoreline,” she instructed and they hesitated but did as she asked. Fleur stood beside them and Benji hovered in the air, not looking happy that he was slowly being encased in a protective bubble.

“We’ve done what we can, we’ve bought fifteen minutes at least,” Theo spoke, wiping his forehead of the sweat that had formed from casting the difficult magic.

“Thank you, you and Blaise are the best we have at Shielding Charms. I want you with Katie and Angelina, protecting the others.”

They didn’t question her, just moved over to the group of convened people and the small dragon, and the protective bubble formed much quicker and shimmered blue before becoming invisible, once Theo and Blaise added their magic into the spell work and they took control from Katie and Angelina, since Shielding Charms were their speciality.

“I’ve called for backup but I don’t know how long they’ll take to get here, or when they’ll get my message,” Harry approached her. She nodded and everyone took their positions, their wands in hand and stood facing the tree line, waiting.

~000~000~000~

There were more than they’d originally thought; when they took one down another two would suddenly appear and each person was duelling two, maybe three Death Eaters at a time.

The ground was littered with unconscious and bound Death Eaters and Hermione thanked Merlin that although they all sported injuries, none of them were fatal and everyone was still standing.

Hermione’s eyes darted to the protective bubble where everyone inside watched the battle in before them and she was glad to see that everyone inside was safe and uninjured, but she could see that Katie, Angelina, Theo and Blaise were beginning to tire after pouring their magic into the shield to keep it up as curses and hexes rebounded off it and headed in opposite directions.

They needed to end the battle before the pack, Sue, Billy and Fleur became sitting ducks.

They’d been fighting for an hour and must’ve taken down close to sixty Death Eaters, and it was obvious to Hermione that none of these were the high rankers they were looking for. They were the foot soldiers and she could tell from their duelling techniques that they’d never seen battle before. It was almost too easy to take them down. Easy but tiring, which was their plan and Harry had figured it out, too.

They were sending wave after wave of unskilled Death Eaters to fight them to wear them down, so when the nine inner circle members did arrive, it wouldn’t take much to destroy her family and friends.

She caught Harry’s eye and he nodded in understanding at what she was trying to convey and she quickly took down her two Death Eaters before she ran to the pack, throwing up a shield over her shoulder to rebound the curse a Death Eater had thrown at her.

Theo, seeing her approaching, altered the shield’s molecule structure long enough that Hermione was able to slip through and into the protective bubble and she poured her own magic into it, making it stronger.

“Change of plan?” Blaise guessed.

She nodded, breathing heavily and wiping the blood away from her forehead, where it leaked down her face and into her eye, it stinging painfully. Seth was beside her before she could blink, his arms folding around her and low snarls rumbling in the back of his throat.

“I’m fine, but I think we’re going to need your help,” she panted.

“What do you want us to do?” Sam asked, no hesitation in his words, only a steely look of determination and the pack nodded in agreement.

“Every time we take one down another two appear. The high ranking Death Eaters are sending in waves of Death Eaters in hopes of wearing us out so that when they arrive themselves, we’re too tired to fight back and we’re easy pickings. These Death Eaters have never seen battle before, they don’t know what they’re doing and they’re easy to defeat, so they’re new recruits. If we can find the nine high rankers, we can stop the orders.” They nodded in understanding. “An estimated guess leaves me to believe all nine will be here, the attack is too large and well planned for them not to be. This is their end game.”

“I’ll need a few of you to come with me, they’ll be hiding nearby and I need some of you to help the others but don’t kill anyone, you’ll never forgive yourselves if you do. They’re still human. Just knock them unconscious, if there’s a few injuries along the way, no one will care. Your appearance and size alone will terrify and distract them. Their magic may still affect you if you are hit by one of their curses so try to avoid it. And stay away from anything that is bright neon or very dark in colour, they’re the most dangerous. If you see a neon red, yellow or green beam, you get out of the way and fast, they’re the Unforgivables. They’ll either control your mind, torture you or kill you.” Their eyes widened but they didn’t look deterred. “Sam, Jacob, Seth, you come with me. Leah, Quil, Embry, Paul, Jared, I want you out there with the others.”

“What about us?” Collin asked with a frown.

“I want you here, protecting Sue, Billy, Fleur and Benji,” she told them, rather than saying they were too young to fight and they nodded, looking happy at being given something to do. “Katie, Angelina, do you think you can hold the shield?”

“Not for much longer,” Katie’s voice was strained with the effort of holding up the shield.

“I’ll help,” Fleur made to pull her wand.

“I don’t think so,” Hermione’s voice rose in alarm. “Not only would Bill kill me, but we can’t risk you losing control of your magic, your magic’s already wonky because of the baby and I’m not having you magically exhausting yourself and harming the baby.”

She looked disappointed but nodded and her hands came up to cradle her growing bump.

“Blaise, Theo, I need you out there with the others.”

“On it,” they both said and they quickly left out of the shield and it formed back into place once they’d stepped through.

Hermione stepped out of the shield, as did the others and Angelina and Katie were able to make the shield smaller as there weren’t as many people for it to surround, and they were able to focus their magic on its strength rather than its size.

The shifters quickly phased into their wolf forms and the wizarding folk turned their heads slightly to see the giant wolves, their eyes widening before they laughed in relief and disbelief.

“Now that’s more like it,” George grinned and he ducked a Slicing Hex and sent a Stunner in return, his opponent hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“Finally decided to join the party?” Fred asked, as he took down his Death Eater, dusting off his robes in smugness. He gave a sudden yelp, rubbing his arse and turning around to see the Death Eater that had thrown the Stinging Hex at him.

“Tosspot!” Fred called as he threw himself into battle.

Hermione ran across the beach, ducking and diving between duels, throwing spells to help others as she went past and she ducked into the trees with Seth, Sam and Jacob following after her and knocking down Death Eaters with their large bodies as they did so.

“Hold still,” she told them and she tapped their noses with the tip of her wand and they all shivered as her magic washed over them.

“It’s a Disillusionment Charm, it’s basically magical camouflage. I’ve placed a Silencing Charm on you so they won’t see or hear you coming. The people we’re looking for are high rankers for a reason, just be aware of that,” she warned them before she muttered beneath her breath and moved her wand in slow, deliberate movements before making a noise of victory.

“They’re half a mile from us,” she informed them, making to step forward before startling when she felt the cold nose nuzzle at her neck. She knew it was Seth.

She placed her hand against his fur and she felt him lower himself to the ground, understanding what it was he was doing, she managed to climb onto his back and she jostled when he stood up as if she weighed nothing. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and she held on tightly as he took off, running through the woods.

They could hear the talk and laughter of the Death Eaters as they approached them and with the wolves speed, they’d reached them within minutes and it allowed for Hermione to formulate a plan.

Seth lowered to the ground and she climbed off him.

“Seth, stay behind me, Sam, Jacob, surround them,” she said softly. She felt Seth nudge her shoulder.

“I love you, whatever happens here, know I love you,” she whispered and he nuzzled her neck and she giggled when he licked her, swatting him away blindly since she couldn’t see him.

She then took a deep breath and stepped into view.

“You really are useless, aren’t you?” Hermione drawled, casually twiddling her wand in her hand.

The nine Death Eaters spun to face her and she heard them hiss in surprise, obviously not having expected her to find them or to have made it out of the battle.

“Hi, so, now that you’re here and I’ve been waiting for you for a while, might I add, how about we drop those ridiculous masks?”

“It’s not like you’re going to survive,” a voice sneered in agreement and her eyes flickered over the nine figures as they removed their masks.

Hermione recognised some of them from photos and others from duelling against them personally.

“Avery, Flint, Fawley, Travers, Bulstrode, Parkinson, Rowle, Nott and Rosier,” she greeted, tipping her head slightly. “Rosier, how many of you are there? I’m sure your nephew was caught and detained not too long ago.”

“Mudblood!” Rosier spat. “Not too bright of you coming alone, we have many _things_ planned for you,” he promised, his eyes dark with cruelness and hatred.

Hermione shivered at his cruel smile and the way he licked his lips as his eyes trailed over her body. As it had been a warm day, Hermione wore denim shorts, converse and a plain t-shirt, which admittedly, were tighter than she was used to. Her hair had long since fallen out of the ponytail it had once been in and she was covered in blood and her clothing had tears, not to mention, she had sand in places she wasn’t even going to discuss.

“I’m not as alone as you think.” She felt the warm breath ghost over her neck as Seth stepped closer and his chest bumped against her back at the threat. He was likely snarling but with the Silencing Charm, it was undetectable.

“I believe your precious blood traitors are being kept busy,” Nott smirked, his eyes lingering on her bare legs.

“Your son’s there, too,” she informed him brightly.

“That blood traitor is no son of mine,” he sneered.

“He’ll be glad to hear that,” she said truthfully, “He’s so ashamed that he’s related to you, you know? He told me _everything_. The abuse, the threats, the torture, that you killed his mother when he was five-years-old.” Her voice grew angry with each word she spoke until she was sneering herself. She took a deep breath and gripped her wand, gaining control of her anger. “But, seeing you in a prison cell and eating rotting food will put Theo on cloud nine. I understand you have a dislike for Greyback, I have a lot of sway with the Ministry, maybe I could arrange for you to be his cellmate, he’d love some company. From my understanding, an Alpha werewolf needs a bitch,” she said lightly and she felt the wheezing breathing of Seth and understood it was from laughter.

“Let’s get back on topic though, sending in your foot soldiers to wear us out and weaken us for when you attack is smart,” she admitted. “Who thought of that? It can’t have been you, Fawley, nor you Bulstrode and Parkinson, I’ve met your daughters, not too bright. I suppose it could’ve been you, Rowle, but then again, that’s not saying much for the rest of your fellow idiots,” she mused, tapping her wand against her chin thoughtfully.

The wands that had been gripped in their hands began to shake with rage.

“Of course, the flaw with this plan is that you underestimated your opponents, we did win the war and we did destroy your psychotic master, after all. And you’re banking on the fact that you’ll win by sending in all of your henchmen, but you haven’t stopped to think what would happen if we figured out your plan. I mean, I am the Brightest Witch of my Age, or so I’m told,” she said lightly. “You didn’t stop to think that maybe I would figure out your plan or that I would have on,e too,” she smirked and they shifted on their feet minutely.

“Did you honestly think that I wouldn’t prepare for there once again being a Taboo on Lord Shitface’s name? Amateurs,” she sighed in disappointment. “You thought you’d set a trap for me, when in reality, I set a trap for you. Surely, you know I’m responsible for a fair amount of your fellow inner circle members being caught. No? Oh, well I am. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that there are so many of us here in the first place? Or the fact that I’m stood here in front of you all, by myself, without fear?” She cocked her eyebrow.

“Your inbreeding has once again failed you, not only in magical ability but in intelligence, too. Seriously, I never thought I’d meet anyone thicker than the Crabbes and Goyles, but you proved me wrong.”

She had a shield up before what she recognised to be Dolohov’s Curse, could collide with her. The force of the curse hitting the shield made her stumble back but Seth was still behind her and he stopped her from falling.

She lowered her wand and smiled coldly.

“Your first mistake is allowing me to distract you. Your second mistake is thinking that you would destroy my family and friends, who I protect and love fiercely. Your third mistake is believing that you’re better than me over something as trivial as blood. I am smarter than you. I am a beloved War Heroine. And I am more magically powerful than you. And I am a _Muggleborn_. I bet that just pisses you off,” she taunted. “Your final mistake is believing that I am here alone, or that I am unprotected. I am never alone and that is going to be your downfall.”


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count:7

**Friday 7th July 2006**

She began talking, seemingly to no one and their eyes darted around wildly.

“Boys, just incapacitate, don’t kill, but if some limbs are removed in the process, no one will blame you.”

She flicked her wand and the three large wolves suddenly appeared and snarls ripped from the back of their throats. Hermione threw up a shield as Rosier and Nott both threw curses at her and she heard the screams from the others as the wolves pounced on them. In less than a minute, the seven Death Eaters were unconscious on the ground and the wolves turned to Hermione but she shook her head at them, letting them know that the final two were hers.

Nott was the first to go down but she was saving him for Theo.

Hermione dived off to the side as the Killing Curse slammed into a tree and she stood to her feet and threw a _Sectumsempra_ at Rosier, catching his shoulder and blood began pouring. When he was distracted with trying to stem the blood flow and crying out in pain, she hit him with a _Stupefy_ and she stood tall and breathing heavily as he fell to the ground.

“Thank you, boys,” she said tiredly, slumping against a tree. Seth whimpered at seeing her hurt and he moved over to her, nuzzling her neck. She sighed and reached up to touch his face. “I’m fine, but I need a drink, preferably some fire whiskey.”

Sam and Jacob snorted at her, having learned from Paul what fire whiskey was and just how strong the burning alcohol was, since it had made Paul tipsy after a few tumblers of it. It seemed to be the only alcohol that was able to bypass their metabolism for a short while and allow them to feel buzzed or tipsy.

“Seth, is the battle over?” She asked him. He lifted his large head high, tilting it slightly and strained his hearing before nodding. “Let’s get these arseholes back to the others; Theo’s been waiting for this for a long time.”

Hermione climbed onto Seth’s back and she had the unconscious Death Eaters floating behind them as they made their way back to the beach. She sighed when she saw the littered beach of unconscious Death Eaters but that her friends and family weren’t too badly injured. In fact, Charlie, Bill and Fleur were already tending to the others as everyone stood crowded together, including the wolves that had phased back and were thankfully, not naked as they'd hidden clothes in the woods for emergencies.

“There’s our Warrior Princess!” Fred called.

“Coming back from battle and riding her boyfriend viciously! I mean victoriously!”

“GEORGE!” She shrieked in outrage as the others burst into laughter. “His mother’s right there, and so is his sister,” she said, but when she looked, Sue was hiding a chuckle behind her hand and Leah smirked.

“I _really_ like you guys,” Jared said through his laughter and he wiped the tears away from his eyes.

She slid off Seth and to her feet and he walked into the woods, emerging along with Sam and Jacob after phasing back and pulling on clothing.

“How are we fairing for injuries?” She questioned, closing the distance between them.

“Not too bad actually,” Charlie shrugged. “We have a few burns, sprains and broken bones, but it’s mainly gouges and cuts, they can be healed pretty quickly.”

Hermione noticed that Paul, Leah, Quil and Jared were sporting a few cuts and they caught her eyeing them up.

“It’s nothing serious,” Quil shrugged off her worry. “They’ll be healed within an hour or so.”

“I’m sorry you got hurt, I never wanted to bring you into this,” she said sadly.

“Are you kidding me? It was awesome!” Paul grinned at her and she blinked in surprise.

Rolling her eyes at him, she shook her head before saying, “The members of the inner circle have been captured.” The wizarding folk cheered loudly in victory and she smiled and laughed as the pack joined in. “The war is now and officially over and we can stop living our lives in fear,” she said and they cheered louder. “Theo, I have a gift for you.” She gestured behind her to where the Death Eaters had been laid on the ground.

Theo stiffened and he gripped his wand and slowly he approached the figures, looking down at his father. They all observed quietly.

He held his wand over his father’s face and stared down at him as his father glared at him and his eyes moved under his Stupefied state. Theo’s arm shook and he had the words on the tip of his tongue but then his arm dropped to his side.

“You’re not worth it,” he said to his father. “I’d rather be a blood traitor than your son. If being a Pureblood means torturing, raping and murdering innocent people and children, then I’m glad I’m not considered to be one in your eyes. I’m going to spite you the best way I know how. I’m going to dismantle the Ancient House of Nott until there’s nothing left of it and then I’m going to build it back up into something I can be proud of, and in the process, I’m going to give _half_ of the Nott vaults to werewolves, Muggleborns and to rebuilding the Wizarding World.”

He turned and walked away from him and back over to the others who smiled at him proudly and clapped him on the shoulder.

Hermione walked over to Nott Senior and looked down at him in disgust.

“You’re a better person than I, Theo,” she said softly, and before they could blink, Nott was hit with a blinding white light that jetted from her wand.

Even in his Stupefied state, his body still managed to writhe on the ground and screams were muffled in his mouth.

“That’s for being an abusive, childhood stealing bastard. You’re lucky you’re still alive, and I swear on every form of magic there is, I will _never_ allow you to hurt Theo again,” she said coldly.

“What did you do?” Theo asked her, looking torn between horror and pride.

“He’s not in physical pain,” she promised him. “I simply placed a curse on him that acts in a similar manner to a boggart.”

“He’s being forced to deal with his fears mentally?” George asked, looking amazed and horrified.

“Yes.”

“There’s no such spell to recreate the fear a boggart induces on a person,” Fred said, eyeing her strangely.

“There is now,” she folded her arms over her chest.

“Don’t ever tell her about your father,” Seth leaned over and whispered and Paul nodded slowly, his reaction mimicking the rest of the packs; wonder and terror. She was kind, but she was _terrifying_.

Leaving Nott’s side, she crossed over to Rosier and looked down at him in disgust before she aimed her wand at his groin and a bright orange beam flew from the tip and hit its target.

“That’s for trying to rape me,” she said coldly.

“What did you do to him?” Charlie asked, watching as Rosier remained perfectly still and showed no sign of pain or distress, unlike Nott.

She turned to them and smiled innocently. “Let’s just say, for the next few months, he going to have a fetish for ogres.” The wizarding folk grimaced but laughed and she crossed over to Seth, being pulling into him as he hugged her to him gently. “Is anyone else in need of fire whiskey or is it just me?”

Snorts of laughter broke out.

“Break out the fire whiskey!” Seamus called excitedly with his hands in the air and they laughed; the atmosphere light and peaceful despite the last couple of hours.

Regardless of injuries, everyone gathered around the firepit Bill charmed to life and Hermione summoned bottles of fire whiskey and glasses and butterbeers for the pups and Fleur. Hermione sat in front of Seth, her back pressed against his chest and his arms folded around her stomach as he occasionally placed kisses to her neck and cheek and she smiled softly when he did so. Ginny and Harry and Bill and Fleur sat similarly, and everyone laughed and joked around the fire.

Ten minutes later, an army of Aurors stepped out of the trees and they blinked at the sight that met them. Close to a hundred Death Eaters sprawled on the ground and a group of wizarding folk, muggles and shape-shifters sat around a fire, laughing and drinking joyfully.

“You’re a bit late, Hunter,” Harry said amused, as the Deputy Head Auror approached them.

“So I see,” he responded dryly.

“I believe you’ll find that all inner circle members have now been caught, as have some new recruits,” Hermione said, her eyes were closed and her mouth tugged into a smile as Seth placed yet another kiss to her cheek and she turned her head into his touch. Her eyes fluttered open to see the Auror staring at her. “Nott is currently under a spell of my own creation, hopefully, it won’t wear off until _after_ he’s gone mentally insane, it’s the least he deserves,” she said meanly, “But if it does, would you mind being a dear and informing me of how long it lasted?”

He nodded slowly in surprise, not able to find the words to respond.

“Lovely, would you mind getting rid of them now, please? They ruined our beach party and now we’re trying to relax after nearly two hours of duelling.”

He nodded again in surprise.

A growl rumbled in Seth’s chest and his eyes narrowed into slits when he saw the Auror’s eyes deliberately trailing Hermione’s legs.

The Auror cleared his throat and shifted on his feet slightly.

“She’s a taken woman, Hunter,” Harry warned. “I wouldn’t pick a fight with him; he’d chew you up and spit you out.”

The others sniggered at his words, obviously a reference to their shape-shifting forms; the big bad wolf.

“And, I’m taking the weekend off, I think I deserve it, I’ll clear it with Kingsley.”

He nodded again and with one last look at the crowd surrounding the fire, he turned and left to help the other Aurors as they prepared the Death Eaters for transporting to the Ministry holding cells so they could be processed and booked.

Hermione took a sip of her fire whiskey and sighed at the burn as the liquid slid down her throat.

“Miss. Granger?”

Hermione’s eyes fluttered open as a young woman who can’t have been much older than her, shuffled on her feet, pushing a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to thank you for taking down Flint, Rowle and Avery,” said the Auror.

“You shouldn’t be thanking me, you should be thanking everyone here; they were an instrumental part in it all. In fact, Sam took down Flint, Jacob took down Rowle and Seth took down Avery,” she pointed them out and her eyes darted between them.

“Thank you,” she said but they shrugged and just waved off her gratitude. “It’s too bad they’re still alive,” she muttered.

“Why?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Flint raped and tortured my sister, she was only fourteen,” she confessed quietly. Sue gasped in horror. “She’s on the Janus Thickey ward. Rowle tortured my brother, who was ten and he’s also on the Janus Thickey ward.” Sue choked on her breath. “And Avery burned my parents alive.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Hermione said softly. “But believe me, where those three are going is a much more suitable punishment than death. If they die, they get away with their actions. If they survive, they’ll be in prison and surrounded by dementors. Which fate would you chose if you had the option?”

“Death,” she said instantly.

“Precisely. They’re going to face their crimes and they’ll be punished for them. Your siblings’ treatment, it’s expensive?”

“I suppose so,” she muttered.

“It is,” Neville piped up, looking sad. “My parents have been on the Janus Thickey ward since I was a baby. My family’s wealthy so we’ve been able to afford the payments for the last seventeen years, but it’s still expensive.”

“I manage,” the Auror shrugged.

“What’s your name?” Hermione asked.

“Gemma,” she responded. “Gemma Dexter.”

“And your brother and sister?”

“Holly and James.”

Hermione and Harry shared a look.

“Gemma, Holly’s treatment will be funded in its entirety and until it’s no longer required, coming from my personal vault.”

“Oh, no, Miss. Granger, I couldn’t...”

“And James’ treatment will be funded in its entirety and until it’s no longer required, coming from the Potter Vault,” Harry interrupted.

“Miss. Granger, Auror Potter, I can’t possibly accept...”

“Yes, you can, and you will,” Hermione interrupted. “Harry and I are quite stubborn.”

“Like a hippogriff,” Charlie snorted.

“Shut it, _Charlotte_ ,” she shot back and they sniggered when he stuck his tongue out at her.

Benji made a sound of protest at being woken from his sleep and crawled over to Hermione, curling up in her lap. She rolled her eyes but scratched his head, her mouth twitching when she felt Seth shift behind her and when she looked up at him, he was eyeing the little dragon as though he were expecting it to attack him.

“Dexter, time to go!” A voice called and she looked behind her.

“You’re needed elsewhere,” Hermione gestured behind the woman with a tip of her head. “And don’t worry; we’ll take care of your family.”

“Thank you, Miss Granger, Auror Potter. Thank you all,” she looked at everyone gratefully before she turned and left.

“Poor dear,” Sue commented with a sigh.

“It was war,” Harry said sadly.

“And now it’s over. We’re free from the fear but we’ll never be free of the memories,” Hermione said quietly, absentmindedly running her hand over her left arm.

Seth looked down and frowned. “What’re you doing?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly but wizarding folk looked at her knowingly.

Harry’s hand suddenly shot out and he started laughing as everyone looked at him.

“You didn’t?” Hermione laughed disbelievingly.

“Didn’t what?” Jared asked with an arched brow.

Harry grinned and he opened his hand to show the golden snitch sitting in his palm, the wings fluttering slowly. Everyone stared in surprise.

“I forgot the game was still going,” Charlie said amusedly.

“It’s still not as good as the time you caught it in your mouth,” Fred chuckled, tipping his glass at Harry in cheers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Hogwarts’ youngest seeker in a century,” Hermione applauded. “Team Gold wins the match, 330 - 80.”


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Wednesday 12th July 2006**

“ _Hermione, is there any way you can track Jake?”_ Seth’s message came through the galleon and into her mind.

She stopped stirring her potion and turned to the pups. “Collin, Brady,” she called and they turned away from the desk they were sat at, reading through her first year potions book. She’d told them they needed to know the theory before they were allowed to help her with the actual brewing of potions and surprisingly, they hadn’t put up much of a fight. They hadn’t looked up or away from their pages for the last hour, not even when they had a question they wished for her to answer.

“Why don’t you take a break?”

They shrugged and left the room, heading to the kitchen to make themselves a snack.

 _“Possibly, why?”_ She replied.

_“Billy told him about Bella’s wedding invitation and he lost it. He phased in anger and he’s missing. Sam’s ordered the pack not to follow him but I’m worried. I can’t find him; I’ve been searching for hours. I’m getting nothing through the mind link.”_

_“I gave him a replacement necklace until I can figure how to improve them. It doesn’t have a Location Charm like yours does, but it does contain a part of my magic, meaning in theory, I can track my own magical signature. Do you want me to talk to him?”_

_“You might be able to get through to him. I’ll let Billy know that you’re looking for him.”_

_“Are you going to the wedding?”_ Hermione asked.

_“Yes, Charlie’s invited mom and I don’t like the idea of her being there alone. Are you coming?”_

_“Obviously, as much as I hate her and the vampires, I’m not letting you or your mother anywhere near a coven of vampires without me there. The mind reader’s not the only one we need to worry about.”_

_“Billy’s going, too, he has to otherwise Charlie will get suspicious. He’ll be happy knowing you’re going to be there. Let me know when you find him, love you.”_

_“Love you, too,”_ she replied.

~000~000~000~

“There you are,” Hermione grumbled as she sat down next to Jacob, looking out at the sky.

She shivered, it was bloody cold! She was going to kill Jacob for making her follow him to a bloody mountain in Canada. She wasn’t sure where she was exactly but it was bloody freezing.

“How did you find me?” He turned to look at her.

“The necklace,” she nodded to it and his hand came up to it, frowning. “I was able to get a fix on your location because the necklace contains some of my magic. I was able to lock onto my magical signature to find you,” she shrugged.

“Is that how you were able to find us after the newborn army battle?” He looked down at her, her being tiny compared to him. Well, she was tiny compared to Seth but Jacob stood a whole seven inches taller than her wolf.

“No, I was able to find you because I placed a Locator Charm on Seth’s necklace, so I can pinpoint his location within minutes. It took me nearly an hour to find you. Seth’s necklace is different to yours, as I’m sure you’ve all figured out.”

He nodded. “He sometimes grips it and starts laughing randomly.”

She chuckled, imagining the pack thinking Seth was likely going mad in those moments.

“Mine and Seth’s necklaces are connected to each other and we’re able to speak to each other through our thoughts, it’s basically a mind link between us.” His eyes widened in wonder. “We’ve recently discovered it works in both human and wolf form,” she smiled at him.

She looked out at the view that sat before her and she smiled, it really was beautiful, but still bloody cold, even after she cast a Warming Charm on herself.

She shivered and Jacob chuckled, shrugging off his jacket and giving it her. She took it gratefully and slipped it on, she pulled her legs up to her chest and since the jacket was so big, she was able to wrap it around her legs, too.

“You’re tiny,” he said fondly, seeing the sight she made.

“You’re just a giant,” she shrugged, obviously she was exaggerating. “Or not far off, I’ve met several giants and with the exception of my friend Grawp, it wasn’t a pleasant experience, the prat tried to squish me under his foot.”

He burst out laughing and she smiled when the sadness and anger that lingered in his eyes lessened marginally.

“One day, I’ll introduce you to Grawp, he’s living in the Forbidden Forest on the Hogwarts grounds. He’s Hagrid’s half brother, I think you’d like him.” He shook his head at her and looked back out at the view. “So, do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Come on, you’ve known me long enough to know that people can’t help but spill their secrets to me,” she nudged him with her shoulder.

He tried to glare at her but his mouth was twitching.

“You’re going to smile, aren’t you?”

He shook his head, trying hard to fight off the smile.

“Yes, you are,” she said smugly. “I’m a genius, or so you stated, I know everything,” she said arrogantly, flipping her hair over her shoulder dramatically. She smiled when a chuckle escaped him and it soon morphed into a laugh.

His laughter calmed. “I’m trying to brood here, leave me alone,” he scowled.

“Can’t do that,” she shrugged, “It took me an hour to find you and fifteen minutes to walk up here from that ledge down there. That’s my exercise for the next two weeks done.” He snorted at her. She then punched him in the arm but it obviously didn’t hurt him and he looked at her amused.

“And _why_ did I deserve that?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Were you not just listening? It’s for making me walk up here, and it’s bloody cold.” He chuckled at her. “Now, talk to me.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Tough luck, I’m not leaving until you do.”

“I don’t want to,” he repeated.

“Don’t make me use my wand, I can now,” she reminded him and his lip twitched.

“I must admit, what you did to Jared was brilliant.”

She shrugged. “He shouldn’t have brought up the Lust Potion incident, Seth gets really embarrassed when it comes to sex, since he’s new to it all.”

“And you don’t?”

“Not really,” she shrugged. “I wasn’t a virgin when I met Seth, I made the mistake of sleeping with Ronald but at least it allows me teach Seth whilst learning myself. Besides, my sex life was splashed across the _Daily Prophet_ for Wizarding Britain to see, including my brothers. When you have your privacy invaded like that, how can you get embarrassed about admitting you have sex with your boyfriend? I’m working on getting his confidence up, I know he second guesses himself and he hesitates, but, we’re slowly getting there. It’ll take a little more time, there’s only so much I can do to help him, the rest he’s got to do himself. But let’s get back on topic, talk to me, you never know, you might feel better.”

“I don’t want to talk to you,” he crossed his arms childishly.

“Charming,” she scoffed. “Fine, don’t talk to me, just pretend I’m not here and talk to yourself.”

“That’s a sign of losing your mind,” he pointed out.

She shrugged. “You can either talk to me, or talk to yourself and risk thinking you’ve lost your mind.”

They fell quiet, both looking out at the view and Hermione sat next to him, leaning against his larger frame.

“I hate it,” he sighed.

“I know.”

“I know you don’t like her.”

“I hate her,” she confirmed without remorse. “I think she’s a selfish cow.” He raised an eyebrow. “Just being honest,” she told him, holding her hands up. He rolled his eyes.

“I love her.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really? Or do you think you love her?”

“I love her.”

“You don’t sound sure,” she pointed out. “Give me your hand,” she instructed.

He looked at her curiously but held his large hand out and Hermione took it and it took both of her hands to cup just one of his. She brought their hands up to rest over her heart.

He frowned in confusion.

Her eyes were closed and a look of concentration filled her soft and kind features, until he felt it. Her heart which had been beating a steady rhythm, suddenly began to pick up until it felt as though her heart was about to burst out of her chest.

A soft smile appeared on her face and he gasped as he suddenly felt himself being overwhelmed by emotions that weren’t his own. He felt all warm and soft inside. He felt as if butterflies and taken up home in his stomach and they were kicking up a storm. His heart clenched, his head went fuzzy and his breathing sped up, all without his permission.

She opened her eyes and the chocolate orbs shined brightly with happiness and love.

“That’s what love feels like,” she said softly. “That’s what I feel when I’m with Seth. When he’s looking at me, when he’s touching me, when he’s laughing and smiling, when he’s sleeping and he makes little noises of annoyance when I shift in bed, when he’s scowling or embarrassed because someone’s teasing him. That’s what I feel when I’m in a different continent to him. All I want to do is be with him, to be by his side. I have officially left my family and friends for him. I moved here for him, because I would never and could never dream of asking him to leave his home, his Tribe and his pack. That is love.” She pulled his hand away from her heart but kept a hold of it.

He blinked in surprise as he suddenly felt cold and lonely inside, no longer feeling Hermione’s emotions.

“I hate that she’s marrying him. It makes me so angry. She’s literally giving up her life for him.” He looked down at the ground. “You are the most loving, kind and compassionate person I have ever met,” he said suddenly and she blinked up at him. “I don’t understand why you hate vampires so much. I was born to hate them but I can’t contemplate you hating anything. You sat and read a piece of legislation for six hours straight, because it would help werewolves in your world have rights. Why do you hate vampires?” He questioned.

She sighed tiredly. “Lower the mental barrier the necklace’s created,” she told him.

He frowned but did so, nodding to let her know it was done and then she let go of his hand and drew her wand.

She locked her eyes onto his and whispered, “ _Legilimens_.”

She slipped into his mind but she didn’t intrude on his privacy by looking through his memories or thoughts, instead, she pushed her own memories into his mind before quickly retreating, she hadn’t been in his mind any longer than a minute.

He looked at her horrified, truly horrified after seeing her memories swim through his mind before they disappeared.

“That’s why I hate vampires,” she said. “They’re nothing but destructive, vicious monsters, and I have never used that word to describe a magical creature or being before.” She looked away from him. “You saw what I lived through and what I had to do to protect the innocent. I killed five people that had been bitten by a vampire and they begged me to do so. In doing what they wished, I sacrificed a piece of myself each time. Even though I stopped their suffering, for every life I took, I lost a small piece of my soul,” she said quietly. “I know you don’t want to hear this but she’s made her choice. And she’s a bloody idiot but there’s nothing we can do about it. If you don’t attend the wedding then you may miss the last chance of seeing her as a human, _alive_. If you do, it will cause some problems, of which, I will enjoy.”

“You’re going?” He questioned with a surprised frown.

“Not by choice, if she and her gang of fangs suddenly died in a fire I wouldn’t be saddened.” He snorted at her; her hatred put Paul to shame. “The only reason I’m going is because Charlie Swan invited Sue. Seth’s going as he doesn’t want her to be on her own, and I’m going because hell will freeze over before I allow any harm to come to Sue, Seth and your father. He doesn’t want to go either but Swan will get suspicious if he doesn’t attend.” Jacob nodded in understanding. “I’m going to protect them and maybe my presence will throw a spanner in the works, I’m hoping for some drama, at least. Please come to the wedding so we can hate every minute of it together,” she begged.

He laughed at her. “I’ll think about it.”

“Well, it’s the best I can hope for,” she sighed in defeat. “But if I have to sit on an arse numbing seat and loathe every minute, I don’t want to suffer on my own.”

“How thoughtful of you,” he rolled his eyes and she smiled with her head tilted to the side.

“I know, when I die I should be awarded a sainthood.”

He snorted. “St. Hermione. It has a nice ring to it.”

“It does, doesn’t it? Put in a good word for me with the man upstairs?”

“What?” he asked confused.

She smiled charmingly. “If you don’t attend the wedding, I’ll track you down and kill you for making me suffer through it alone.”

He laughed loudly. “You’re something else,” he shook his head.

“You’re not the first person to say that.”

“Seth’s lucky to have you,” he commented with a small smile.

“No, I’m lucky to have him,” she sighed. “Without him, who knows where’d I be right now? Likely wallowing in grief and despair in a ditch somewhere. Seth truly has changed my life and for the better. And I don’t deserve him,” she smiled sadly. “Speaking of Seth, he’ll be wondering where I am so I better get back to him.”

She stuck her hand beneath the jacket and pulled out her beaded bag, opening it and removing a backpack.

“Now this is no ordinary backpack, it’s similar to my bag,” she informed him. “Inside you will find clean clothes, money, a blanket and pillow and enough food and drink to last you a week. Don’t worry, I didn’t make it,” she assured him and he snorted at her and took the backpack from her gratefully. “Take as long as you need, I’ll speak to your father for you. If you haven’t returned in a week’s time, I’ll track you down just to make sure you’re alright and so I can keep your father from worrying too much. Alright?”

He nodded. “Thank you, Hermione,” he said.

“We’re friends,” she shrugged. “I’d do anything for my friends. Fight for them, lie for them and die for them.”

She kissed his cheek and then slipped off his jacket, handing it back to him and she stood with her wand in hand.

“You’re always welcome and you’ll always have a place in my home if you want it. Seth and I are very good at keeping secrets if you decide to come back for a few days and you want to hide out.”

He knew she was referring to Paul’s attack.

The last thing he saw was her soft and understanding smile before she disappeared from view with a ‘crack.’

~000~000~000~

“What’s wrong?” Seth burst into the tent, looking around worriedly since Hermione had sent him a messaging saying, _‘I need you.’_

She looked up from her book, set it down and crossed over to him before she took his hand and pulled him to their room -since he was all but living with her- and she pushed him on the bed before climbing up next to him and wrapping herself around him, snuggling into him. His arms wrapped around her automatically.

“What’s brought this on?” He asked, a hand coming up to run through her curls.

She shrugged. “I missed you and I just needed a cuddle.”

“You’re sure?”

She nodded, snuggling into him further until she was practically draped over him.

“Give me your hand,” she said softly.

He held out his hand and she took it, bringing it up to rest against her heart. And like she had with Jacob, she cleared her mind of all thoughts except for Seth, and she pushed her feelings over to him.

He gasped loudly and the arm around her waist tightened.

“What’s happening?”

“I love you, that’s what’s happening, I don’t want you to ever doubt the love I have for you or your worth to me,” she said softly, her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her face.

“That’s what you feel for me?”

“Hmm,” she hummed, her head resting over his heart and the rhythmic beating of it putting her in a sleepy trance. “That’s what I feel when you’re looking at me or touching me, when you’re laughing or smiling, when you’re sleeping and dead to the world. That’s what I feel when I think of you, or if I’m in a different continent and I just want to get back to you. I love you, Seth. Unconditionally and irrevocably. You’re it for me. And deep down, I knew from a young age that someday I would find my perfect match. I’m just glad you didn’t keep me waiting.”


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 8

**Sunday 13th August 2006**

“Is Jake coming?” Seth asked as he buttoned up his shirt and Hermione sat on the bed, a towel wrapped around her and her wet hair falling down her back as she applied moisturizer to her arms and legs.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “When I saw him yesterday he didn’t give anything away, but I told him I’d kill him if I had to suffer through today alone. I’m hoping he turns up, every wedding needs a bit of drama.”

He snorted, shaking his head at her.

It had been just over a month since Jacob had left, and true to Hermione’s word, once a week she tracked him down, gave him more supplies and sat with him for a couple of hours, talking, joking and laughing. When she left him she would head to Billy’s and inform him of his son’s wellbeing and she would also tell the pack, lessening their worry for him. As far as she was aware, Jacob had stuck to Canada, each time she had been forced to climb up one mountain or another and she suspected Jacob did it just to wind her up as she would grouch and grumble to him about it afterwards and he would always smirk and snigger and tease her.

“Are we still taking Billy?”

“Yeah, mom’s going with Charlie, we have to be there in an hour.”

She nodded and then stood and summoned her clothing, going to the bathroom since she didn’t want to distract Seth whilst she changed. Barely ten minutes later, Hermione returned to her room and Seth’s mouth dropped open when he looked up at her. He tried to speak but incoherent sounds left him and she giggled softly and smiled at his reaction.

She wore a light blue off the shoulder dress with a sweetheart heart neckline. The dress fit her figure perfectly, showing off her feminine curves before flaring out the tiniest bit and falling down to her knees, the skirt swishing and swaying as she walked. Her hair was left down in soft ringlets, flowing down her back and it was clipped back from her face with glittery pins. On her feet, she wore black flats but only due to driving the car, once they arrived she would change into strappy silver heels, and she had the matching clutch purse which held her beaded bag and wand.

She walked over to him and took his tie, which he had been struggling to do. She tightened the knot and tucked it into his suit jacket and smiled up at him. Seth wore a black suit with black dress shoes, a white shirt and a blue tie which matched the colour of Hermione’s dress. It had been Sue’s idea that they show a united front, as a result, she was also going to wear a blue dress but a darker shade than Hermione’s and Billy was to wear a blue tie, too. The men hadn’t complained or argued, they’d just gone along with it, and Hermione had been surprised to find she’d actually enjoyed dress shopping with Sue.

“You look beautiful,” Seth finally managed to speak and she laughed at him.

“And you look very handsome, I need to find more excuses for you to wear a suit,” she commented and he chuckled at her.

“I have something for you,” he said, pulling out a rectangular box from his inside pocket.

She took it curiously and opened it, gasping as what she saw. Inside there was a silver necklace with a round sapphire pendant, surrounded by smaller diamonds.

“It’s beautiful, but I can’t accept it.”

“Try telling my mom that,” he snorted. “She asked me to give it to you. It belonged to my great-grandmother, or at least, I think it did,” he shrugged.

“If it’s a family heirloom, it should go to Leah.”

“Mom gave her a bracelet and the matching earrings when she turned eighteen. When I turn eighteen I’ll be getting something of my grandfather’s, I don’t what since she hasn’t told me. My mom sees you as her daughter, and you’re already eighteen, she wanted to keep up with tradition.”

He took the necklace from the box and slipped it around her neck, fastening it at the back. The pendant fell just below the centre of where her collar bones met, and since she had placed a Disillusionment Charm on her galleon necklace, it was unseen.

“Thank you,” she said softly and he smiled, leaning down to kiss her.

~000~000~000~

They arrived not long before the wedding ceremony was to start and as Seth helped Billy out of the car, Hermione slipped on her strappy silver heels, locked up the car and took a steadying breath.

She felt Seth take her hand and she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

“You okay?” He asked her.

“Yes, just reminding myself that I’m surrounded by vampires and it’s not a battle, so I can’t go about spells and magic blazing.”

He chuckled at her, leaning down to kiss her forehead. Billy took her other hand and squeezed it tightly and she smiled down at him. Over the last month, she and Billy had become rather close since they’d bonded during their shared time talking about Jacob, the pack and magic. And if Sue was her mother, then she saw Billy as a father figure.

Seth pushed the wheelchair in the direction of the ceremony and Billy kept hold of Hermione’s hand. They walked down the aisle and to their seats and Hermione looked at the decor with a raised eyebrow. She would describe it as an ‘Enchanted Forest’ wedding, all it needed were a few fairies to complete the look, she thought with a snort. It was far too busy with all the vines, flowers and trees for her tastes, she preferred something simpler but to each their own.

They were on the front row, great!

They took their seats, Billy being positioned in the space where there was a seat missing, Seth sat next to him and she sat beside Seth, her hands clasped around his and held in her lap. Her eyes flickered over the guests present and although there weren’t many, she noticed that those on her side of the aisle were definitely human, and there was no mistaking that the pale and beautiful people on the other side of the aisle were vampires, two with dark hair and three blondes with hair to rival the Malfoys.

As if sensing her stare, the five vampires she didn’t recognise turned their golden eyes in her direction. A sneer appeared on the three blonde women’s faces when their eyes caught sight of Seth, who was conversing with Billy so he didn’t notice.

Her own eyes hardened into a cold and hateful glare.

“I swear, if you lay a finger on him, I’ll flay you until your ashes are swept away in the wind,” she spoke quietly so no one but the vampires would hear. Their eyes widened minutely, she didn’t know if it was surprise that she knew what they were, or shock that she had threatened them the way she had.

Seth squeezed her hand tightly but didn’t pull his attention from Billy, not wanting to alert him to a possible conflict.

“I’m human,” she muttered, seeing the puzzled expressions they shared. “But I’m also your worst nightmare, and making an enemy of me would end your existence,” she promised.

Jasper suddenly appeared, walking down the aisle with a crease in his forehead and he stopped by the vampires and they had a whispered conversation before all eyes darted to her and she arched a challenging eyebrow in response.

They slowly nodded at Jasper and he stood, catching her eye before disappearing back inside, just as the mind reader made his way down the aisle and stood at the altar.

His eyes locked onto hers and he frowned slightly before turning his eyes to Seth, then Billy and Sue, who was heading to her seat beside Hermione. In that moment, she was glad she had made and given both Sue and Billy a galleon necklace to prevent their minds from being read. The pack didn’t want to give up the advantage of the vampires not knowing who she was and just how powerful of an ally she truly was.

She smirked at him and then turned her attention to Sue as she sat down beside her.

“You look wonderful, Dear,” Sue smiled.

“Thank you, you look quite lovely yourself,” Hermione complimented and Sue waved her off with a shy smile. “Thank you for the gift,” she said.

“It looks far better on you than it ever did on my Grandmother,” she smiled.

“Seth told me the reasoning.”

Sue took her hand that wasn’t holding Seth’s and held it between hers.

“I meant it, Hermione, you are my daughter now.”

Hermione smiled, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a mother,” she said and Sue smiled, too, also with tears in her eyes and they both laughed softly at the other’s emotional response.

Hermione leaned her head against Sue’s shoulder and she caught Seth looking at her lovingly and Billy was smiling at them.

The wedding march began and everyone stood.

“A vampire marrying a human, now I’ve seen it all,” she muttered. Seth snorted and Sue hid a laugh behind her hand.

~000~000~000~

“Well, I’m glad it’s almost over,” Hermione commented as she and Seth danced together with other couples surrounding them, including some of the vampire couples and she knew they were watching them and listening to their conversation.

“But I’m going to kill Jacob; I had to sit through the ceremony on an arse numbing chair without him. If I had to suffer through it, then so did he.” Seth chuckled at her. “I swear, Seth, if he forces me to track him down again in a week’s time and I end up having to climb yet _another_ mountain in Canada, I’m going to turn him bald for the rest of his life.” He snorted. “I only gave him enough supplies for a few more days and I don’t want him to think this is going to be a permanent thing. I’m giving him his space by keeping his location a secret, but the pack is worried about him, and I hate that I can’t take away his pain,” she sighed. 

“Jake’ll be fine, with you looking out for him he can’t be anything but.”

“And there hasn’t been any drama; no wedding is complete without drama. I was quite looking forward to Jacob insulting everyone and picking a fight,” she said sadly. “I suppose there’s still a wedding tradition that can be fulfilled.”

“And that is?” Seth asked with a raised eyebrow as he twirled her under his arm and pulled her back to him, making her laugh.

“A couple, two strangers or two exes sneaking off to have sex,” she answered.

Hermione burst out laughing at the look on Seth’s face and she heard a sudden laugh coming from the right. She turned her head and caught the eye of who she was now referring to as the Ice Queen.

Hermione cocked her eyebrow in response and Blondie just smirked at her in return, a slight look of approval on her face, and when she looked at the large vampire she was dancing with, he looked amused, too.

She turned back to Seth. “What?” She asked innocently.

“Your brothers are a bad influence on you.”

“Now are you sure about that?” She arched an eyebrow. “Or am _I_ a bad influence on _them_?”

“I see your point, you’re all as bad as each other,” he conceded.

She grinned in response. “Charlie’s asked me to visit for a few days,” she told him and before his frown could settle on his face, she continued, “Do you want to come with me?”

“To visit your brother in Romania?” He questioned in surprise and she nodded with a smile. “Where would we stay?”

“The Reserve does have housing for its keepers and workers, I know Charlie has a spare room in his cottage but I don’t want us to stay with him, you wouldn’t even fit through the door. The spare room’s tiny and there’s no doubt in my mind he’d spend the majority of our time there following you around and glaring at you for even looking at me. I know his appearance makes him seem big and intimidating, particularly with his choice in career, but he’s actually a big softie, a walking talking teddy bear if one were to exist. But when it comes to Ginny and I and the opposite sex, all bets are off and he’s actually worse than the others on that front. The Reserve has guest houses, they’re mainly used for visiting researchers and possible donors. The Reserve can’t do all the good work they do in healing and releasing the... A _nimals_ back into the wild without donations. Treatments are expensive and since it’s difficult to breed them, a lot of money goes into that as they’re trying to stop them from becoming extinct. Charlie’s the head keeper, so basically, he’s the boss.” He snorted at her. “He’d easily be able to get us in a guest house, and the Reserve should be closed to most visitors as they’ve just got an injured Horntail, Welsh Green and Opaleye admitted. Charlie wants to see if I can get Benji to eat.”

“Benji’s not eating?” Seth frowned.

“No, he’s not, Charlie thinks it’s because he misses me. What Bill said was true, I was the first female Benji saw after he hatched; he genuinely thinks I’m his mother, and I haven’t seen him since we got the pack and my friends and family together five weeks ago. Because Benji’s not eating, he’s not developing as he should be. Hopefully, my presence alone will change that.”

“You’re going anyway, aren’t you?” He said knowingly.

“I have to, I can’t allow Benji to fall ill, but I want you to come with me. How many chances in life are you going to get to go to Romania and see a well-guarded conservation reserve for endangered _animals_?”

He chuckled at her. “The others will be jealous.” He pointed out. He could only imagine the fit the rest of the pack would throw when they found out he was going to see and stay on a dragon reserve without them. 

She shrugged. “They can come next time I visit. I noticed Leah eyeing up Charlie.”

“She did?” He frowned.

“She did,” she nodded. “From my understanding, she hasn’t looked at another man since Sam broke up with her and imprinted on Emily. And I know Charlie thinks she’s beautiful, he’s asked about her in his letters. They seemed to have hit it off at the beach party.”

“No, I don’t believe it,” he shook his head, his nose scrunching up slightly.

She laughed. “Well, I saw the sex eyes they were sending each other.” Seth grimaced. “It’s your turn now, your poor sister has had to deal with the knowledge of our sex lives.” He scowled at her and she laughed, she heard a snort and she caught the eye of the Ice Queen again.

“Imagine that, my brother and your sister, possibly dating. It’s a good thing I’m not blood-related to my brothers, that’d just be weird,” she shivered and he snorted. “It’s too bad I only have Ginny and Fleur as sisters. Fleur’s married to Bill and Ginny and Harry are dating, otherwise, we could’ve set some of the pack up with my sisters.”

He snorted. “How ‘bout Katie and Angelina, your friends?” He offered.

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t invite them for my benefit; I did it for the twins.”

“But they broke up five years, didn’t they?”

“Yes, when we were still in school. I can’t even remember why they broke up, I think Katie and Fred had an argument, and since George is loyal to Fred, and Angelina is Katie’s best friend, they ended up breaking up as well. Fred and Katie were an awful couple but George and Angelina were good together. I know George still has a bit of a thing for her, even after all these years. I couldn’t invite Angelina without inviting Katie,” she shrugged.

“Miss. Granger, are you trying to fix up one of your twin brothers with his ex-girlfriend?” He asked amused.

“One hundred percent,” she admitted without shame and he sniggered at her. “And it worked, Fred and George don’t usually write me separate letters, but Fred sent me one last week, apparently, Angelina and George have been spending quite a bit of time together,” she said smugly and he chuckled. “So, Bill and Fleur are married with a baby on the way, Percy’s dating some girl called Aubrey, who I’ve never met and didn’t know about since he never writes me, we’re not that close anyway, George and Angelina are back on track, Harry and Ginny are going strong, they’ll be engaged by the end of next year.” He raised an eyebrow. “He’s asked me if I’d go ring shopping with him.”

“But they’re only eighteen,” he said in surprise.

“My kind tend to marry young, I don’t know why, we just do, I suppose it doesn’t help that if you come from a pedigree background, you’re given an arranged marriage. You have to be married as soon as you graduate and you must produce an heir by your twenty-first birthday.”

“But your friend Theo isn’t married, nor is Blaise and most of your friends and brothers,” he pointed out.

“Although my brothers and sister are from a pedigree background, their family has never believed in arranged marriage. Neville’s Grandmother tried to arrange a marriage for him but after the war he put his foot down and told her he loved Hannah Abbott and that they’d marry and have children when they wished to. I was so proud of him that day, trust me, Augustus Longbottom is a scary woman,” she shivered just thinking of that hideous vulture hat. “Blaise’s mother would never force him into an arranged marriage. She’s a bit of a black widow, eight husbands have died on her but there’s no proof she’s involved, so I don’t doubt marriage is the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. Theo was disowned because he defected to our side during the war. His father was an abusive bastard, physically, emotionally and mentally, I don’t know how Theo survived it, and his father killed his mother when he was five.”

“What did you do to his father? Your friends and family seemed surprised by it, scared even.”

“I made him mentally face his worst fears, hopefully, the twisted bastard will go insane before it wears off; it’s the least he deserves after what he did to Theo and the crimes he committed in the war. Anyway, let’s get back on topic. Fred’s the only one I’m worried about; hopefully, George will be able to set them up on a double date before I have to intervene. And that just leaves Charlie. Maybe I should ask your sister to come with us to Romania, I doubt Charlie would mind,” she mused.

“If it will get her away from Sam and Emily, she’d do anything,” he said knowingly. “I’ll ask mom but we both know she’d say it’s fine.” She laughed at him. “Maybe you and Leah can do some bonding whilst we’re away.”

“We’re slowly getting there. She laughed at something I said the other day,” she told him.

Seth stopped dancing and looked at her in disbelief. “She didn’t!”

“She did,” she confirmed excitedly.

“No way,” he whispered, slightly dazed.

“Progress, I know,” she grinned. He shook his head and laughed at her. After sharing a victorious high-five, Seth pulled her back into his arms and they continued dancing.

“Will you do it again?”

“Do what again?” She asked, lifting her head from where it had been laying against his chest.

“Show me,” he clarified.

“Are you ever going to get tired of this?”

“No, I know you love me. You tell me every day but being able to _feel_ that you love me, it’s something I’m always going to cherish.”

They stopped dancing and she smiled up at him. Her hand came up to cup his cheek and he leaned into the touch. She took his hand and placed it against her heart and covered it with her own and his free arm tightened around her and pulled her against him.

“I love you,” she said softly.

Seth suddenly gasped as he felt her love for him swarm his body, warming him up from the inside and making his entire body tingle. It was overwhelming but he would never grow tired of it.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Sunday 13th August 2006**

Jasper had been sitting at the table with Edward, Alice, Esme and Carlisle, observing the guests dancing on the dance floor, and whilst Bella was being occupied by her father and friends from school, they were focusing their attention on one couple, in particular, Seth and his girlfriend, Hermione, whilst Rosalie and Emmet hovered close by.

 _“Well, I’m glad it’s almost over, but I’m going to kill Jacob; I had to sit through the ceremony on an arse numbing chair without him. If I had to suffer through it, then so did he. I swear, Seth, if he forces me to track him down again in a week’s time and I end up having to climb yet_ another _mountain in Canada, I’m going to turn him bald for the rest of his life. I only gave him enough supplies for a few more days and I don’t want him to think this is going to be a permanent thing. I’m giving him his space by keeping his location a secret, but the pack is worried about him, and I hate that I can’t take away his pain,”_ she sighed.

“I hadn’t realised they were so close,” Esme spoke softly, watching as the young woman genuinely looked as though she hated herself.

“Bella hasn’t mentioned anything about Black having a new friend,” Edward frowned in thought. Why would he keep a new friendship from Bella? What reason could he possibly have for keeping it a secret?

 _“Jake’ll be fine, with you looking out for him he can’t be anything but,”_ Seth assured her.

She spoke again, this time she sounded sad, as if she was pouting. _“And there hasn’t been any drama; no wedding is complete without drama. I was quite looking forward to Jacob insulting everyone and picking a fight. I suppose there’s still a wedding tradition that can be fulfilled.”_

 _“And that is?”_ Seth asked with a raised eyebrow as he twirled her under his arm and pulled her back to him, making her laugh. They noticed that is was soft and musical, infectious and inviting.

 _“A couple, two strangers or two exes sneaking off to have sex,”_ she answered.

They felt themselves fighting off a smile at the look of complete surprise and embarrassment on Seth’s face as she laughed at him. Rosalie and Emmet didn’t bother trying to hide their amusement.

_“....Charlie’s asked me to visit for a few days. Do you want to come with me?”_

_“To visit your brother in Romania? Where would we stay?”_

_“The Reserve does have housing for its keepers and other personnel, I know Charlie has a spare room in his cottage but I don’t want us to stay with him, you wouldn’t even fit through the door. The spare room’s tiny and there’s no doubt in my mind he’d spend the majority of our time there following you around and glaring at you for even looking at me. I know his appearance makes him seem big and intimidating, particularly with his choice in career, but he’s actually a big softie, a walking talking teddy bear if one were to exist. But when it comes to Ginny and I and the opposite sex, all bets are off and he’s actually worse than the others on that front. The Reserve has guest houses, they’re mainly used for visiting researchers and possible donors. The Reserve can’t do all the good work they do in healing and releasing the..._ animals _back into the without donations.”_

They looked at each other as it was clear to them she was choosing her words _very_ carefully; she was hiding something.

_“Treatments are expensive and since it’s difficult to breed them, a lot of money goes into that as they’re trying to stop them from becoming extinct. Charlie’s the head keeper, so basically, he’s the boss. He’d easily be able to get us in a guest house, and the Reserve should be closed to visitors as they’ve just got an injured Horntail, Welsh Green and Opaleye admitted.”_

“What?” They all muttered, puzzled, sharing looks between each other as none of them could recall any animal of that name or breed, not even Alice who had gone through a ten year obsession on animals and she knew every animal that was known to exist on the planet.

_“Charlie wants to see if I can get Benji to eat.”_

_“Benji’s not eating?”_ Seth frowned.

_“No, he’s not, Charlie thinks it’s because he misses me. What Bill said was true; I was the first female Benji saw after he hatched.”_

Hatched?

_“He genuinely thinks I’m his mother, and I haven’t seen him since we got the pack and my friends and family together five weeks ago. Because Benji’s not eating, he’s not developing as he should be. Hopefully, my presence alone will change that.”_

_“You’re going anyway, aren’t you?”_

_“I have to, I can’t allow Benji to fall ill, but I want you to come with me. How many chances in life are you going to get to go to Romania and see a well-guarded conservation reserve for endangered_ animals _?”_

_“...Imagine that, my brother and your sister, possibly dating. It’s a good thing I’m not blood-related to my brothers, that’d just be weird.”_

“That’s interesting,” Edward muttered and the others nodded in agreement.

_“... He’s asked me if I’d go ring shopping with him.”_

_“But they’re only eighteen,”_ he said in surprise.

_“My kind tend to marry young.”_

“My _kind_?” Carlisle frowned, and they all latched onto those two words, focusing their hearing on only them.

_“... Although my brothers and sister are from a pedigree background, their family has never believed in arranged marriage. Neville’s Grandmother tried to arrange a marriage for him but after the war...”_

“War,” Jasper muttered and he sat taller with his eyes locked on her back, not being able to see her expression as she was facing Seth, her back to them.

_“...He put his foot down and told her he loved Hannah Abbott and that they’d marry and have children when they wished to. I was so proud of him that day... Blaise’s mother would never force him into an arranged marriage... Theo was disowned because he defected to our side during the war. His father was an abusive bastard, physically, emotionally and mentally, I don’t know how Theo survived it, and his father killed his mother when he was five.”_

_“What did you do to his father? Your friends and family seemed surprised by it, scared even.”_

_“I made him mentally face his worst fears, hopefully, the twisted bastard will go insane before it wears off; it’s the least he deserves after what he did to Theo and the crimes he committed in the war.”_

Their eyes flickered between each other and then back to the dancing couple.

_“...Will you do it again?” Seth asked._

_“Do what again?”_

_“Show me.”_

_“Are you ever going to get tired of this?”_

_“No, I know you love me. You tell me every day, but being able to_ feel _that you love me, it’s something I’m always going to cherish.”_

Their eyes flickered to a frowning Jasper at Seth’s words.

 _“I love you,”_ she said softly.

Jasper made a sound of surprise and his eyes widened but they were still locked on the couple as he brought a hand up to rub over where his beating heart used to be.

“What is it?” Alice asked, placing a worried hand on his arm.

He turned to look at them and Edward made a noise of surprise when he caught Jasper’s thoughts.

“She’s an empath, like you,” he whispered in disbelief.

They all stared at Jasper and Rosalie and Emmet quickly made their way over to the table.

“What?” Rosalie hissed.

“She...” Jasper started. “I don’t think she has the same ability,” his frown deepened. “But I can feel her love for Seth, and I can feel his love for her. And now, it’s overwhelming as I can feel that Seth now feels her love, too.”

“What?” Emmet blinked in confusion.

“It’s almost as if she’s projecting her own love onto him, so he can feel it for himself, but in doing so, it’s overwhelming as he’s not only feeling his own love for her, but hers for him. too.”

“That still made no sense,” Emmet grumbled.

“ _What_ is she?” Alice frowned. “I never saw her coming and I can’t get a read on her.”

“Jasper confirmed that she’s Seth’s imprint, she’s blocked from your sight by him,” Carlisle reasoned.

“Yes, but she’s immune to Edward, too. As is Seth,” she argued.

They turned to him but he was watching them with narrowed eyes, as they still stood close to each other, a look of wonder lit Seth’s face.

“It’s _her_ , she’s the one blocking me. Before we met her, I could hear every thought from the pack and then suddenly I couldn’t. And now, I can’t hear Billy or Sue.”

“But that’s impossible,” Esme frowned.

“I know,” he muttered.

“She’s human, she said so herself, and smells human, too,” Emmet shrugged, seemingly not as worried as the rest of them.

“But she’s hiding something. There are several keywords that stand out,” Jasper inputted.

_War. My kind. Forcing someone to mentally face their worst fears._

_“Can everyone do this?”_ Seth asked, drawing their attention once more.

_“No, it’s not a common skill amongst us. As far as I’m aware, you have to be born with it or born with some talent for it.”_

_“Like how you’re a Cloaker?”_ He asked.

What the hell was a Cloaker?

_“Not exactly, I’m a Cloaker because I learned and studied the art of it for years, I have a natural talent when it comes to staying off the radar. If I don’t want you to find me, then you won’t. But the ability or skill of being able to project my feelings onto someone else is something I was born with, but I didn’t realise I had it until I turned seventeen.”_

_“How’d you find out?”_ He tipped his head slightly.

_“Kingsley. We were at an Order meeting and everyone was arguing over the best course of action to take regarding the safe retrieval of Harry. This was after I implemented the safety precautions on my parents, so I was not only feeling sadness and despair at what I’d been forced to do, but I was angry that the others were fighting with each other when we had a war to win. Kingsley was the only member to remain quiet and calm; he was promoted to the Head of the Order of the Phoenix after Dumbledore was murdered, he couldn’t afford to lose his temper. Anyway, he noticed that things had taken a turn for the worst when weapons were drawn and aimed at one another. I was just sat there, completely consumed in my own feelings that I didn’t realise what was happening but when he touched me, everything came back to me and the Order members suddenly sat down and everyone was just staring at me, watching me in confusion. After the meeting, Kingsley took me aside and explained what had happened and what I was capable of. After the war he worked with me, helping me to control my own emotions and abilities so I wouldn’t accidentally inflict them upon others.”_

_“Is this why the pack was so calm when they first met you?”_

_“Sort of,”_ she nodded _, “I didn’t use my ability on them but people have always been drawn to me. I can set people at ease with a look, word or touch, depending on who it is. For Harry, I only have to be in his presence, which is why I never left his side during the war. He not only needed my support, friendship, love and knowledge, he genuinely needed my presence so he couldn’t and wouldn’t give up. I can’t manipulate emotions as such, nor can I feel others, but I can project my own emotions onto others, which may affect theirs in turn. And I can’t feel other’s emotions but I can more or less sense them. What I have, it’s a dying skill. It isn’t seen much these days, but centuries ago it was fairly common. There are thousands of us hidden around the world and according to statistics, only three percent of the population share the same ability as me.”_

_“The more I learn about you, the more powerful I understand you to be.”_

Their eyes flickered to each other and back to the couple with a frown.

_“You may be small, delicate and loving, but you’re powerful. I didn’t understand it before but now I do. I understand why your friends and family refer to you as powerful. It’s as if there’s something surrounding you, warning people of your power so they know not to mess with you.”_

_“Never stopped them before,” she shrugged and he chuckled. “People learned not to mess with me after they had already done so. I have a vengeful streak in me that scares even myself sometimes, but I didn’t use to. My past experiences have turned me into the person I am today, and those memories and habits will always be engraved in me. They’re too traumatic and dark to ever hope to forget, no matter how much I wish to.”_ She looked down at the ground and Jasper could no longer feel her projecting her emotions onto Seth but he could feel her sadness and guilt.

 _“Has today made you reconsider your thoughts of marriage?”_ Seth asked with a curious tone to his voice.

They all had looks of surprise on their faces, since they knew Seth to be not yet seventeen, and they knew from their conversation that Hermione was at least seventeen, likely older.

 _“I’ve never been opposed to the thought of marriage with_ you _, just cautious.”_

_“Understandable after your ex-boyfriend and his mother who’s crazier than a box of cats.”_

She giggled at him. _“I didn’t want marriage with Ron, long before he proposed after I caught him cheating. Things between us didn’t feel right, being with him felt almost like I was betraying not only myself, but someone else, and at that point in time, I didn’t know of you. Ron and his mother kept pushing marriage on me and they sort of ruined the idea of it. I never thought I’d survive the war, let alone survive it to get married, so I hadn’t really thought of it, not even as a child as I was too busy trying to keep Harry and Ron from failing their classes, as well as keeping them alive. The last seven years have been very tiring and now the war’s over and we’ve caught all of the remaining members of the other side, something we couldn’t have done without the pack. And now, I just want to live my life, day by day, without having to worry if the person I bump into in the street is going to kill me, or if the food I bought contains poison.”_

Seth twirled her out, pulling her back into him making her smile and laugh softly.

_“I was opposed to marriage with Ron because I knew the type of person he wanted me to be, and what he would force me to become. I can’t and won’t be a housewife to an army of children.”_

_“I know that, Hermione, there are too many people in the world that need your help. That need your compassion and kindness and I would never get in the way of that.”_

_“And that’s why I’ve never been opposed to marriage with you. You support me rather than drag me down. You listen to me rather than ignore my concerns or wishes. You don’t complain when I can’t give all of my time to you. You don’t scream to the world that life is unfair. You don’t look at me in disgust when you see my scars.”_

Scars? As far as they could see (and they could see _very_ well) there wasn’t a mark or blemish on her skin.

 _“You don’t insult me for my intelligence or my interests and passions. You take an interest in learning more about me and my people. You’ve shown me that I can trust you, not only with my life but with my secrets, my soul and my heart. And my family and friends more than approve of you. Despite the twins teasing and just being downright pains in the arse, they can see that you love me and they understand that you could and would never hurt me. Bill and Charlie approve as they’ve met you and they know Harry approves, and believe it or not, Harry is the most protective of me, even more so than the twins, he just isn’t as obvious about it. Ginny and Fleur adore you and if Mr. Weasley had been present, he would’ve talked your over-sensitive ears off, and Percy, well, he’s Percy, I don’t think he likes_ anyone _. Now, Mrs. Weasley and Ronald on the other hand...”_ she shivered, trailing off, giving them the impression that they wouldn’t like Seth at all, but remembering the information they’d learned regarding her ex and his mother, they weren’t all that surprised.

_“My point is, my family and friends know how much you do for me, and your presence alone keeps my memories from the war away. And they would be happy if we were to marry.”_

_“So, one day you want to be my wife?”_ He asked, a hopeful tone to his voice.

They couldn’t see her smiling but they could hear it in her voice.

_“Sometime in the future, I would love to be Mrs. Seth Harry Clearwater.”_

The biggest smile any of them had ever seen graced Seth’s face, making him go from utterly adorable to breathtakingly handsome.

He pulled her into his arms in a tight hug and seeing as the heels she wore brought them closer together in height, he wasn’t hunched over as he buried his face into her neck and curls.

_“Don’t let my mom hear you sat that, forget graduation, she’ll take me ring shopping now.”_

She giggled softly and sighed when he placed a kiss to her cheek and then to her forehead.

_“Jacob approves.”_

_“What?”_ She spoke confused, asking the question they were all wondering.

 _“He’s here,”_ he replied, pulling back further and gesturing behind him.

 _“What!”_ She shrieked, pulling away from him entirely and surprising them with the speed she left the dance floor, rushing towards where Seth had gestured to, faster and more graceful than any human should be able to do in almost five inch heels.

Rosalie’s respect for the girl rose slightly. 


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Sunday 13th August 2006**

"Jacob!" Hermione called, it being a cross between a squeal and shout.

At the sound of her voice, he turned around to see Hermione barrelling towards him which was quite impressive given the heels she was wearing and he laughed as when she reached him, she pulled him into a tight hug that had he not had super strength, would've definitely hurt and then she drew back, smiling at him widely.

"I must say, Miss. Granger, you clean up nicely," he spoke amused, looking at her attire and he wasn't lying, she did look beautiful.

She leaned up and slapped him over the back of the head.

"What was that for?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, not bothering to pretend it hurt because it didn't.

"You made me sit through the ceremony on an arse numbing chair by myself. Despite my happiness in seeing you here, I'm rather put out with you and it's going to take a lot for you to make it up to me," she scowled up at him and he chuckled.

"At least I turned up."

She sighed. "Better late than never I suppose, even if the reception's almost over."

He shrugged. "I thought about what you said and you were right, this might be the only chance I have of seeing her alive."

"I still don't like her."

He laughed loudly. "Don't you ever change," he told her firmly, pulling her back into a hug.

During the time of Jacob being on bed rest and the times she had visited him whilst he'd been away, the two of them had grown remarkably close, she saw it as Jacob being her American shape-shifter version of Harry. In no time at all she'd come to see Jacob as a little brother, and little in the sense of age, not size since he towered over her by an entire foot when she wasn't wearing heels. She knew he felt the same; he saw her as a big sister, one that didn't leave to get married and never returned, or the other that left for college and had yet to return. He knew he would always have Hermione.

"Nah, I'm too busy keeping you alive to do that."

He snorted at her, pulling back from the hug and smiling down at her. His eyes lifted and she turned her head to see Bella staring at them and Hermione was surprised to see jealously. She was glaring at her.

"Oh, don't look at me like that you stupid bint," Hermione rolled her eyes, and she felt Jacob's chuckle vibrate in his chest as they were still close to each other. "You're married to a dead man now, you've no right to get jealous." She turned back to Jacob and spoke so only he would hear. "If you need me, I'll be with Seth."

She reached up and kissed his cheek before turning and walking past Bella and Edward who stood further behind her, before she reached Seth, who stood beside his mother and Billy, close by the dance floor. When she noticed one of the blonde vampires slowly inching her way closer to them, a look of anger on her face, Hermione sped up her movements as the other vampires, including the Cullens were behind her, trying to reason with her.

Just before she was able to reach out and touch Seth, Hermione stepped in front of him, glaring at the blonde, her eyes practically spitting fire. Hermione wasn't intimidated by her, they were of equal height putting them at eye level.

"I suggest you back off before I make you," she warned, her tone chilly and low. Seth spun around and reached out, resting his hand on her shoulder, as both a sign of support and comfort and to try and calm her down.

"What? You need a little mutt to protect you?" The blonde hissed.

"Actually," Seth spoke up, looking more amused than frightened as many pairs of golden eyes turned to him. "She doesn't need my protection, I'm only holding onto her so I can stop her from killing you. I'm not her bodyguard, I'm _yours_."

"I don't need protection from a human," she growled lowly.

"You touch him, even look at him and you will," Hermione promised. "Otherwise, I'll stake you."

"You're so out of your depths!"

"Oh, I know a stake won't actually kill you but where I plan to shove it will hurt quite a bit." Seth bit back his laugh whilst to the left, they heard laughter from Rosalie and Emmet. "You and your sparkly arse have no idea what I'm capable of. Surely the Empath has warned you of me," she spoke, hearing noises of surprise that she knew of Jasper's gift. "I know of Whitlock and his feared reputation. Where I come from, I am the same. I have men, four times my age cower in fear of me, of my name and my presence. I have no qualms about turning you into a pile of ash."

"I'd like to see you try!" She sneered.

"That's enough, Irina," one of the other blondes cut in, placing a hand against her shoulder, much like Seth had done for her.

"Oh, I'm always up for a challenge," Hermione whispered with a cruel smile.

They watched in horror as her eyes suddenly flashed with fire, her hair gave off sparks and then the candles on the tables suddenly flared up, like a flame thrower. The guests screamed and backed away from them, looking around in surprise, for an explanation.

The two covens stared at her in surprise, horror and some of them, curiosity.

"I'm not a regular human, I've met your kind before and I fought in a war against them, and I won. As far as I know, out of hundreds that fought, five escaped, until I caught up with them, that is. I'm an excellent tracker." She was bluffing but with her Occlumency shields firmly in place, no one would know.

"Hermione, Jacob needs us," Seth interrupted softly.

Hermione unclenched her hands which she hadn't realised she'd done, she whipped her head around to look behind her to the woods and then she looked back at the vampires, still staring at her.

"This is my last warning, you stay the hell away from my family. Next time, I won't hesitate to make you my intended target."

She then whipped around and quickly made her way back towards where she had left Jacob. She could hear them arguing and when he saw her approaching, he stopped yelling and his mouth twitched into a smile. Bella turned and glared at Hermione but she ignored her.

"Jacob? What's going on, Seth said you required our presence?"

"Not really, I think I'm done here," he looked down at Bella, a look of heartbreak, betrayal and disgust crossing his face. "He'll kill you if you sleep with him."

"Oh, bloody hell!" Hermione cursed. "Not only did I have to attend a wedding ceremony to a vampire and a human, but now I have to listen to a discussion about the two of them having sex, too? What did I do to deserve this?" She looked up at the sky and threw her hands up in the air dramatically. She sighed. "Jacob, if Bella wants to perform necrophilia, then it's up to her."

A sudden booming laugh caught her attention and she turned to see the Cullens stood behind them, she hadn't even noticed them following her. The tallest one with dark hair was laughing uncontrollably and leaning against a tree and the Ice Queen was smirking in amusement, raising an eyebrow as if to as 'was that really necessary?'

"Seriously, Hermione," Jacob grimaced.

She shrugged. "You've met my brothers; that was tame compared to what they'd say."

"She does have a point," Seth piped up in amusement as he approached them.

"I think the cradle robber jokes they have for Seth and I would be more appropriate in this setting," Hermione said.

Jacob snorted. "Those brothers of yours are something else," he agreed.

"They told you some, didn't they?" She sighed and rubbed at her temples in annoyance.

"Yes, at the beach party and I have to admit, they are very... _Creative_ ," he settled for.

"Of course they are, Fred and George are anything but subtle," she rolled her eyes.

"We were having a private conversation!" Bella interrupted angrily.

Hermione turned back to her, blinking as if only just remembering she was there.

"Nothing's private when you're surrounded by disco balls," she responded, waving her hand dismissively. Seth and Jacob snorted in amusement.

And just as Hermione opened her mouth to further her speech, a gasp left her and she collapsed to the floor, Jacob catching her before she hit the ground. He sat down on the ground and held her, looking up in horror. Seth was already kneeled beside them and he pulled Hermione over to him as she whimpered and gripped at his shirt, her knuckles turning white as her body spasmed. Seth held her tightly and whispered soothing words in her ear, pushing her curls back from her face and placing a kiss to her forehead.

"What's happening to her?"

Seth looked up, catching the eyes of the Cullens as they stared in surprise, and he noticed Jasper leaning against a tree, a pained look on his face, an arm wrapped around his stomach and Alice was beside him.

It was Dr Cullen that had asked and he took a step forward as if to examine her.

Seth shook his head, silently telling him to stay back. "She'll be fine, we just have to wait for it to wear off."

Seth caught the eye of his mother who was stood at the top of the hill with Billy, seeing as they couldn't get his wheelchair down and she nodded, knowing what it was he was asking.

"It'll be over soon," Seth whispered to her softly.

She gasped loudly and released her hold on his shirt, her body ceasing in his shaking and she slumped against him, relaxing. Sue appeared beside them handing Hermione a glass of water, and she pushed her curls back behind her ear as Hermione drank half the glass.

"Hermione?" She turned her head slightly to see Jacob sat beside her and looking at her horrified. She tried to give him a comforting smile but it came out as a grimace. "What just happened?"

"I'm fine now, Jacob, honestly, it's just a side effect," she said quietly.

"It was unbearable," she heard a mutter and her eyes turned to that of the empath, still leaning against the tree with an arm wrapped around his stomach, and his golden eyes held hers.

"Don't be a baby," she said tiredly, she no longer had the energy to sneer or hiss or glare, as she rested her head against Seth's chest. "You honestly have no idea of what I went through during the war. I was captured by the enemy and tortured repeatedly and what they did to me, it still affects me to this day. What you just felt is nothing, it was in its diluted form, times it by a thousand and it still doesn't come close to the pain they made me feel," her eyes were drooping; that had been the longest episode to date and she was exhausted.

"I think we should get you home," Seth spoke softly and she nodded against him, her eyes closed. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he picked her up bridal style without any issues.

"I'm coming with you," Jacob's voice held no tone of argument as he rose to their feet.

"You'll have to drive, Hermione can't risk it in case she has another episode and she'll need me with her."

"I'll come too, Dear," Sue spoke, looking at Hermione worriedly.

Seth looked at the vampires surrounding them before he left, making his way back up the hill with his mother, who left to say her goodbyes to Charlie and Billy followed them.

Jacob was left and he looked at Bella tiredly.

"Just be careful and if he kills you, don't come crying to me," with that, he left, leaving a gaping Bella behind.

~000~000~000~

They had dropped Billy off at his house before Jacob drove the car to Hermione's and hid it in its parking space. Hermione had just enough energy to apparate the four of them to the tent and when they landed, Seth caught her before she collapsed in exhaustion. He carried her into the tent and they followed him to the bedroom where Seth deposited her softly on the bed before removing the clips from her hair and her shoes from her feet. And as Sue placed Hermione's clutch bag on the desk, Seth retrieved one of his t-shirts, which Hermione had washed and put away for him and Sue and Jacob left the room for a few minutes whilst Seth managed to remove Hermione's dress and replace it with his t-shirt before covering her with the blanket.

"Love you," she mumbled tiredly.

"Love you, too," he replied softly, placing a kiss to her forehead and she fell asleep.

Seth kicked off his shoes and removed his suit jacket, opening a few of his buttons on his shirt and rolling up his sleeves before climbing onto the bed and Hermione turned to him, Seth wrapped her up against him and she sighed in her sleep.

Sue and Jacob entered moments later, Sue smiling at the sight softly and Jacob pulled the chair from her desk closer to the bed and Sue sat on the edge of the mattress.

"What the hell happened?" Jacob asked.

"She told you. Due to the amount of torture she was exposed to during her capture, she should've died, or at the very least, lost her sanity. She deals with the consequences as she has episodes like you just witnessed. Her body suffers through the torture again, only it's in a more diluted form."

"How often does this happen?"

"More often than I'd like," he replied, sighing tiredly. "I've personally witnessed seven episodes in one week, but she said she can have up to ten a week. Some days she can go without having any at all, other days she can have several in a few hours."

"How long will she suffer from this?"

"No one knows. She's on a lot of magical medical treatment – potions, creams, spells, even meditation."

"Why is she on so much medication?" Sue spoke, looking at Hermione softly as she slept.

"For her MPTSD, for her insomnia and nightmares, which she doesn't need any more since I keep her memories and nightmares away. She needs them for her tremors and to help with her blood circulation and the nerve damage in her body."

"Poor dear," she said sadly.

"She's getting better, Harry pulled me aside at the beach party and told me so, as did her other brothers. They said she's not as withdrawn, she smiles more; she actually looks rested and happy. And her sisters, Ginny and Fleur, I thought they were going to crush me with their hugs."

Sue smiled softly at him.

"Have they told you, Sue?" Jacob spoke, changing the subject and smirking in Seth's direction.

"Told me what?" She frowned.

"Hermione's agreed to someday marry Seth."

"We have to go ring shopping," she told Seth, and the tone of voice she used and the look in her eye told him she was completely, deadly serious.

Jacob sniggered as Seth shot him a withering look.

"Mom, I haven't even graduated yet."

She frowned. "You're right; we'll wait until your graduation ceremony to propose."

" _We_?" He questioned with a slight squeak of surprise.

"Of course, we," she looked at him like he was daft and Jacob sniggered again.

Oh, he was going to have some fun, especially when the rest of the pack found out. It was just what he needed to take his mind away from Bella.


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 8

**Friday 25th August 2006**

“Hermione, have you seen Leah?” Seth asked as he walked into the kitchen of their guest house.

Hermione and Seth had been in Romania for the last week and they’d enjoyed every moment of it. Seth had loved being able to interact with the baby dragons, Charlie even allowing him to help feed the baby dragons that had been abandoned by their mothers.

They spent most of their time under the glare of the hot sun, walking around the dragon reserve, keeping the baby dragons entertained and chatting to the other Dragon Keepers, who were very friendly and welcoming despite their intimidating appearances. There were one or two that were as stand-offish as they looked, but they’d learned to avoid those ones in particular.

Leah had decided to join them for the trip, too, after Hermione had asked if she would like to visit the Dragon Reserve. She seemed hesitant at first but once Hermione mentioned it was where Charlie lived and worked, she’d barely taken any convincing which confirmed Hermione’s suspicions that there could possibly be something between Leah and Charlie in the future, especially since Charlie was more than glad to have Leah stay as well. In fact, he went out of his way to make sure that she enjoyed her time there, and he spent more time with Leah than he did Hermione.

Seth pretended not to notice that his sister was suddenly smiling more than he had ever seen, he did _not_ want to think about that, ever! Hermione wasn’t in agreement and she’d had plenty of fun teasing him about his sister’s budding relationship.

But despite all of the fun they’d had, they would be returning to La Push tomorrow morning. Hermione had spoken to Benji many times and he was finally eating, she only hoped he continued to do so after they left. Seth had taken a shine to a Romanian Longhorn named Pepper, who had hatched the day of their arrival and was now a week in age, and she knew he would miss her, just as she would miss Benji. But, they could visit whenever they wished to, or so, the other Dragon Keepers had said after being introduced to Charlie Weasley’s War Heroine little sister. It was fair to say many of the Keepers were taken with Hermione and Seth hadn’t been too pleased. Luckily, Hermione had been able to calm him enough that he hadn’t phased, because, Merlin, that would’ve been a nightmare, the sheer excitement it would cause amongst the Keepers was a frightening thought by itself.

“Hermione?”

She looked up from making herself a cup of tea. “Sorry, what did you say?” She shook her head and cleared her mind of the fond memories of her trip and she was a little sad that she was leaving but they had to get back to La Push; Leah and Seth both had responsibilities and she missed Jacob, Paul and the pups, who hadn’t been happy that she was leaving to Romania and they couldn’t go with her. 

“Have you seen Leah?” He repeated, sounding amused. “She and Charlie were supposed to be here by now.”

She hid a smile behind her mug before taking a sip of the hot liquid. She’d seen Leah and Charlie a while ago, waking towards his cottage. They were supposed to be at their guest house half an hour ago so they could all have dinner together before they left the next morning.

“No, I haven’t seen her, or Charlie, for that matter. I’ll see if they’re outside, I won’t be too long.”

She put her tea down and kissed his cheek as she walked past him, out of the kitchen and through the door and she headed straight to Charlie’s cottage and within ten minutes, she reached the small property. She knocked on the door before opening it and just as she was about to step through the doorway, she stopped herself when she saw Leah and Charlie currently snogging on the couch and in their own world, that neither of them had noticed her arrival. She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing before she closed the door behind her, sending a Locking Charm to the door to stop anyone from barging in on them.

The entire walk back to the guest house, she smiled and giggled to herself, because honestly, she had seen this coming since the day Leah and Charlie had met, and hopefully, things between them would be more than just a onetime thing.

“Why are you smiling like that?” Seth asked her from his place sitting at the kitchen table and flipping through one of the magical creature textbooks Charlie had loaned him during their stay.

“I found your sister.”

“Why are you smiling like that?” He repeated, this time sitting up straight in his chair and forgetting the book in front of him.

“I also found Charlie,” she smiled, walking over to her cup of tea, casting a quick Heating Charm over it and taking a sip.

“ _Why_ are you smiling like that?” He repeated once more, this time shifting in his seat and looking as though he were dreading the answer.

“There were together, at his cottage.”

“What were they doing?”

She tipped her head and she smiled at him. A look of disgust crossed his face and she giggled, knowing he’d figured it out.

“Oh, that is disgusting, why did you have to tell me that?” He grimaced.

“Technically, I didn’t, I only smiled at you, you’re the one that put two and two together. Besides, I think this is Leah’s payback, you’re forgetting she can hear your every thought when you’re in your wolf from, which means not only does she have to listen to the teasing of the pack, if your mind suddenly drifts to me, she’ll get glimpses of us together,” she shrugged. “At least it was me that walked in on them and not you. Be happy for them, you’ve seen as well as I that they like each other, and maybe this will be a long term thing, just think, she won’t be moping about Sam anymore, he’ll be gone from her mind and she’ll be happy.”

His face did soften at her words but the grimace on his face remained and she laughed.

“Well, my brother and your sister are otherwise occupied,” she started and he sent her a mock glare. She smiled in response. “That means we won’t be seeing them for dinner, and we probably won’t be seeing them until the morning when we leave. You know what that means?”

“What?” He frowned in confusion.

“It means, My Wolf, that for the first time since we arrived, we have the place to ourselves.”

He perked up, all thoughts of their siblings leaving his mind.

“Oh?” He questioned, pinning her with a heated gaze as his eyes swept her body, encased in the lilac sundress she wore.

“Yes, I can finally complete my experiment on the new protection necklaces for the pack,” she said excitedly, and she turned and left the kitchen, heading straight to the bedroom, giggling as she left behind a furiously blinking shape-shifter.

As she entered the bedroom, she gave a squeal of laughter when she found herself suddenly falling forwards. She landed on the bed and a heavyweight loomed over her.

“That’s wasn’t nice, Hermione,” Seth growled playfully, pinning her to the bed with his body weight.

She smiled up at him, lifting her arms to wrap around his neck.

“I couldn’t resist, you should’ve seen the look on your face,” she laughed lightly.

He pouted and she snorted at him, lifting a hand to his mouth and tracing it with the pad of her index finger. He kissed her finger lightly and she smiled at him. The look he gave her, she knew what it was he wanted and without thought, she sent her emotions over to him and he sighed as her love for him settled inside him, filling his chest with warmth and comfort.

“I have something for you,” Seth told her, staring into her eyes and breaking the silence.

“Hmm?” She hummed questioningly.

He shifted off her, moving over to the other side of the room and to his duffle bag, of which, Hermione had placed an Undetectable Extension Charm on. He rooted around in the contents of the bag before pulling out a small black velvet box and walking back over to the bed, sitting down beside Hermione, holding the small box out to her.

“What is it?” She asked him.

“Open it,” he encouraged.

She frowned but turned her attention to the box in her hand and she lifted the lid, her eyes widening before they shot up to Seth, who was smiling at her softly.

“I... I don’t understand,” she said.

“My mom found out about your wish to someday marry me, Jacob opened his big mouth.”

“That explains so much,” Hermione nodded. “Your mum’s always kind and caring towards me, but lately it’s been... Frightening.”

He snorted. “It’ll get worse,” he warned and her mouth twitched. “Anyway, she found out and she demanded we go engagement ring shopping.” She stopped breathing and her eyes widened comically, falling down to the box in her hand and back up to him. “Have you ever tried to say no to my mom? It doesn’t go over well,” he chuckled. “So, she forced me to at least look around for future reference, even if I wasn’t actually going to purchase anything. Calm down, take a breath and relax,” he told her, seeing that she was on the verge of hyperventilating. When she did, he continued speaking. “She was disappointed that I decided against getting you an engagement ring,” he saw her entire body relax and he chuckled. “But, I got you something else instead.” He gestured to the box and she looked at it again, this time closely.

It was a simple silver band, the metal morphing into the shape of a love heart in the centre of it. There were no gemstones, no sparkles and no patterns. It was simple but that’s what she loved about it. It somewhat reminded her of her relationship with Seth. Nothing about it was complicated. She loved him and he loved her. It was simple and true. She lifted the box up to her eye line and she spied that inside the band was Seth’s name that had been carved into it. Her eyes moved back to his.

“It’s a promise ring,” he told her softly. “It’s a promise that I’ll love you, I’ll care for you and I’ll support you. I’ll be there for you, even when you don’t want me to be and it’s a promise that you’ll never be alone. And if in the future you change your mind about me and you wish to leave, then I won’t stop you and I’ll continue to love you.”

She hadn’t realised she’d been crying until Seth’s hand came up to cup her cheek and he brushed her tears away with his thumb.

“I will _never_ want that,” she told him firmly. “You are all I need in life to be happy. Money. Magic. Shape-shifting. Nothing matters to me more than you. If I had to give up my magic for you, then I would. If I were to lose my family, I would survive, barely, but I would survive. If I were to lose you, it would kill me.”

She looked down at the ring before plucking it out of the box, she reached for her wand and pointed it at the ring, it glowing red.

“What was that?” He asked curiously.

She held the ring closer to him for him to see and his face softened and his eyes filled with love when he saw the changes she’d made to the carving.

It no longer just said ‘Seth’, it now said ‘Seth, My Love, My Life, My Wolf,’ and there was a small carving of a wolf beside it.

He took the ring from her and slipped it onto her ring finger, kissing the back of her hand softly. She sniffled and wiped away her tears, laughing slightly and then she tapped her wand to her ring and it glowed blue before a copy appeared in front of them. He blinked in surprise and watched as she plucked it out of the air and held her wand against the ring. The band changed in width and the love heart disappeared, leaving a simple silver band.

Understanding what it was she was doing, he smiled and told her the inscription he wished to have. When she was finished, inside the band read, ‘Hermione, My Love, My Life, My Witch,’ and there was a little witch’s hat beside it, making Hermione laugh. It was slipped onto his finger and he pulled Hermione into a hug.

“I love you,” she promised and he sighed when he felt her flooding him with her love.

“I love you, too,” he placed a kiss to her forehead, to her cheek and then to her mouth.

Hermione wouldn’t allow him to pull back and she wrapped her arms tighter around him and pulled him down until his body covered hers on the bed. Just as Seth’s t-shirt was removed and Hermione’s dress was halfway up her body, there was a knock on the front door that echoed through the house. Seth groaned in protest when she nipped at his lip and pushed him away from her and she stood, straightened out her dress before quickly making her way to the door.

“Wes? What can I help you with?” She smiled at the blonde, burly Dragon Keeper on the other side of the door.

“Hey there, Granger, just wondering if you’ve seen Charlie about?”

“He’s currently busy right now.”

“He is?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, he is, so don’t be disturbing him until tomorrow morning, unless it’s important.”

“I just wanted to know if he wanted to join us at the pub... But if he’s busy,” he shrugged.

“If I see him before you, I’ll let him know.”

“Thanks, Granger, do you and your boyfriend want to join us?”

She heard a groan from behind her and she took pity on her wolf.

“No, thank you, it’s been an eventful week and we’re going to have dinner and go to bed early, we leave in the morning.”

He smirked at her. “Alright then, I guess I’ll see you the next time you visit.”

“You will,” she agreed and she closed the door and locked it up for the night.

She laughed when Seth grabbed at her hips and spun her around to face him and his mouth descended onto hers, muffling her laughter. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to the couch, depositing her on it and his body covered hers, pinning her down on the comfortable cotton cushions.

His hands pulled at her dress, lifting to her waist and he ran his fingers over her thighs, making her shudder beneath him and a soft moan was pulled from her. She tugged at his hair whilst her free hand went trailing over the skin and muscles of his shoulders and back, lightly dragging her nails down the exposed skin when he started to massage her nub through the fabric of her knickers.

She gasped into his mouth and bucked into his hand, encouraging him to continue with his ministrations. She groaned in disapproval when he pulled back from her, but it was short-lived when he pulled her knickers off and covered her with his body, his mouth latching onto her neck and his hand returning to the wet heat at the apex of her thighs.

She arched into him when he carefully slipped a finger into her, being mindful to not hurt her, but she didn’t seem to mind. He pulled back to watch her as he added a second finger and his thumb found her nub, applying pressure as she rocked her hips into his hand. Her face had flushed pink, her breathing came out in pants and he could hear the pounding of her heart and her blood pumping through her veins. He could feel her nails digging into his skin and he could feel her body shaking beneath him as her walls began to flutter around his fingers.

He applied more pressure to her nub and twisted his fingers slightly, and at his actions, her eyes flew open, her fingernails dug into his skin harshly and she let out a breathless noise as her walls clamped around his fingers. She slumped against the couch and when she’d managed to catch her breath, she opened her eyes, immediately locking on to the dark gaze above her.

She grabbed him and pulled his mouth down to hers, shifting beneath him until she was able to switch their positioning so she was straddling him. Her hands trailed down his chest and stomach until she reached the waistband of his jeans, and she deftly unfastened the zipper and button and snaked her hand beneath his underwear to wrap her hand around his length.

She caught the groan in her mouth as she moved her hand over him, working him up to the point that he was dying for release, and just as he felt himself on the very edge, there was a knock at the door.

Hermione pulled her mouth from Seth’s as his wolf came through and he growled lowly in his chest. She climbed off him, much to his displeasure, and headed over to the door. She unlocked it and opened it with a frown on her face.

“Scotty?”

“Hey, Granger, do you...” He trailed off, looking her over with a frown. Her clothing was ruffled, her skin flushed and her hair looked less than presentable, not to mention, there were a few marks on her neck that were easily identifiable.

“Are you okay?”

Before Hermione could speak, she was interrupted.

“She’s fine!” Seth’s growl cut through the silence from behind her.

Scotty looked to Hermione, a smirk appearing.

“Right then... I’ll let you get back to doing your boyfriend.”

She glared at him and he laughed, turning to leave.

“And don’t be bothering Charlie either.”

“Well shit!” He cursed. “You Weasleys sure are a randy bunch.”

“I’m not a Weasley,” she scowled.

“Only by name, Granger,” he threw a wink over his shoulder as he walked away laughing.

She shut the door and locked it again, only to find herself being spun around, hauled off her feet and being pressed into the wall.

“No more interruptions,” Seth grumbled, latching onto her mouth and muffling her amused laughter, but she was in agreement with him, no more interruptions. She was just as frustrated as he was, only she hid it better.

Her hands roamed the length of his torso until she reached his jeans and she tugged at them until their lowered enough that his length sprang free. She quickly took him in her hand and she shifted her own dress from between them, lining him up to her entrance. She gasped and tore her mouth from his as he slipped into her and a growl of approval fell from his lips as her head fell forward to rest against his.

He took her hands from his shoulders and pinned them to the wall behind her, pulling back from her slightly so he could change the angle as he thrust into her with their eyes locked. He shuddered and groaned when she deliberately clenched her pelvic muscles, her walls clamping around him for all but a second before releasing.

He growled at her teasing and latched his mouth on to her skin, just below her ear which he’d learned was her weak spot. She moaned and squeezed his hands tightly, just as he shifted her weight slightly and he hit the spot inside of her. She gasped loudly and her head fell back against the wall as the waves of pleasure flooded her. She was vaguely aware of Seth stilling and groaning into her neck before his body fell forward, trapping her against the wall.

He wrapped his arms around her and when he regained his breathing, he carried her to the bedroom.

“At least we weren’t interrupted that time,” she said lightly.

She laughed when she found herself being thrown on to the bed and Seth hovered over her with a playful scowl on his face.

“And we won’t be interrupted this time either,” he replied, ducking his head and capturing her mouth in a dizzying kiss, making her forget about everything but him.


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 5

**Saturday 26th August 2006**

“I’ll miss you,” she said to Charlie.

Seth and Leah had walked a little down the path that led out of the gates of the Dragon Reserve, so they could have a moment alone, regardless of the fact they would both be able to hear them anyway.

“I’ll miss you, too,” he smiled sadly, pulling her into a hug. “I hope to you see again soon,” he said, but Hermione could tell without looking that his eyes were trained on Leah over her shoulder and she felt herself smile.

“You will,” she promised. “Both myself _and_ Leah.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he denied, pulling back from the hug and she snorted at him before quickly throwing up a Silencing Charm around them to keep the two wolves from listening in.

“Nice try, Charlie,” she replied, her mouth twitching in amusement. “You do realise I walked in on the two of you last night, right?” His eyes widened and she laughed at him, she couldn’t help herself. “Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything too traumatic, I was spared that experience,” she teased and he scowled at her. “You didn’t notice as you were too busy. I put a Locking Charm on your cottage so no one would barge in, and I warned a few people to stay away unless it was important, not that I told them what you were doing, mind, they came to their own conclusions on that front.”

“Great,” he sighed, knowing the teasing he was in for.

“Look, Charlie, I know you’re my brother, but...”

“I’ll do my best not to hurt her,” he said in understanding, interrupting her. “I’m your brother but your loyalty is to Seth.” She blinked in surprise. “Leah explained the importance of imprinting, by the sounds of it, it’s similar to Remus and Tonks.”

She nodded. “It is, only Seth is tied to me in every way possible. I am literally his everything. He explained it as me being his gravity, his air, his life. And I love you, I do, but my first priority is Seth now. He’s been worried about his sister for a while and although Leah hasn’t imprinted on you...”

“How d’you know?” he interrupted curiously.

“It happens upon first sight, and it’s not something that can be hidden. If Leah had imprinted, the entire pack would know, believe me; they have no secrets, it’s all but impossible for them. And if Leah had imprinted on you, which she hasn’t, Seth would know and he would’ve told me, seeing as you’re my brother. But back to my point, before you interrupted, I’ve noticed that Leah’s taken a liking to you, she even smiled at you!”

“That’s not normal?” He frowned.

She sighed. “Leah should be the one to tell you but you need to know. You know of the imprint, but what you don’t know is that Sam, the Alpha, and Leah were together for four years.” His eyes widened, moving over to the two frowning wolves, seeing as they couldn’t hear their conversation.

“Sam broke up with Leah when he first shifted, seeing as he was the first shape-shifter and he didn’t know what was happening to him. And then he met Emily, who is Leah’s and Seth’s cousin and he imprinted on her. They’re engaged now. Leah’s been forced to be around them every day, seeing them so madly in love and planning a wedding, when at one point in time, that was to be her. And due to the mind link the pack share, there is no privacy between the wolves as every thought they have is made known to the others, which means she gets flashes of Sam and Emily together.” 

He looked over to Leah once more, his eyes locking on hers and he gave her a smile, seeming to calm her and she shyly smiled back.

“I’m just looking out for her, and for you, because if you hurt Leah, not even I would be able to stop Seth from phasing and possibly killing you.”

“I don’t want to hurt her, I like her; she’s different from the others.”

“So it wasn’t just a one night stand?” She pressed.

“Not from where I’m standing,” he admitted.

She smiled. “Good, I think you’d be good together.”

He rolled his eyes at her.

“Just like George and Angelina?” He arched an eyebrow and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she denied, folding her arms over her chest.

He smirked at her. “You and I both know you didn’t invite her to the beach party because she was your _friend_ , the same can be said for the Bell girl.”

She huffed. “Fine, I did it for George, I knew he still had a thing for her and Angelina wouldn’t come without Katie. Fred is all I have to worry about now, I’ll get him a girlfriend sooner or later.”

“You’re more frightening than mum.”

She gasped in outrage. “You take that back!”

“Nope,” he popped the ‘p’.

“Take it back!” She demanded, stomping her foot. He burst out laughing and she glared at him fiercely. “I am nothing like your mum, all I did was give Angelina and George a chance to meet again, what happened between them was of their own doing.” He shook his head at her. “Back to my original point, if things go pear-shaped, I’m just warning you I can’t take your side unless she’s the one to break things off with you.”

“Thanks for the support,” he snorted and she shrugged. “I’ll my best not to hurt her, but I can’t guarantee anything. You and I both know my career comes first and I’m not ready to settle down just yet.”

“I know, just don’t lead her on if you can’t see a future with her.” He nodded, pulling her back into a hug and she dropped the Silencing Charm around them. “I’ll owl you soon, let me know how Benji’s doing, and I don’t doubt Seth will want to know how Pepper’s doing.”

Charlie chuckled. “She’s taken with him, I think you’ve got some competition,” he teased.

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll have to keep my eyes on her to make sure she’s not trying to steal my boyfriend from me.”

“Boyfriend?” He questioned with an arched eyebrow. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the ring on your finger.”

“Yes, _boyfriend_. We’re not engaged. It’s a promise ring.”

“Oh, okay,” he shrugged.

“How do you know what promise rings are?” She questioned. “They’re a muggle thing.”

“We have something similar in Pureblood society,” he answered and she tipped her head. “For those that are being set up for arranged marriages, depending on their age, they sometimes have the option to choose their own intended. The wizard will have a _very_ large list of rules that must be followed, should he choose a witch to court. The wizard will present the witch with a form of jewellery, usually a ring or bracelet. The purpose of this is to show that the witch is in a formal courtship and is currently negotiating terms of the marriage contract. Depending on the rites that are activated, the witch may have the option to turn down the contract and be courted by another, but not until the courtship is officially over, and once it is, they may never come in to contact again, only in public and social situations.”

“And magical folk think muggles are strange,” she commented and he snorted, nodding in agreement.

“Come on, you’re going to miss your port-key home.”

He flung his arm around her shoulders and walked down the pathway to Seth and Leah. Seth immediately took her hand in his and Charlie approached Leah. He bent down to whisper against her ear.

Hermione didn’t hear what he had said and Seth appeared to be doing his best to not listen in either. A smile pulled at Leah’s mouth and Charlie kissed her cheek, moving back from her with a smile. He approached Seth and held his hand out for him, Seth took it and as the two shook hands, an understanding seemed to pass between them.

“I’ll take care of her,” Seth promised.

“Oh, I know you will,” Charlie said lightly. “If not, the consequences won’t be pleasant; who do you think the twins went to when they wanted to pull a prank when we were kids?”

Seth gulped and Hermione smacked at Charlie’s shoulder and he turned his attention to her.

“You must also remember my words.”

“I will,” he told her, his eyes flickering over to Leah before turning back to her. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You will,” she promised, reaching over to hug him once more.

~000~000~000~

**La Push**

“What did you say to him?”

Hermione turned to Leah as Seth disappeared into the tent to use the bathroom before she transported them to Sue’s house.

They had just arrived via port-key and both Seth and Leah had done well during the transportation, seeing as neither of them lost the contents of their stomach, though they both had face planted the floor on arrival.

“Sorry?” Hermione questioned.

“Charlie, what did you say to him?”

“Do you want me to lie, or do you want the truth?”

“The truth,” she replied with narrowed eyes.

“Honestly, I warned him against leading you on and hurting you.”

“Why?” She demanded, looking both angry and confused.

“I love Charlie, he’s my brother, and although he’s a walking, talking teddy bear, and he’s very protective of myself and Ginny, he can be a bit of a dick when it comes to women he dates. He’s afraid of commitment and he’s not ready to settle down yet. He loves his job and it’s an important part of who he is and it always comes first. This leads to arguments when he refuses to give up his career and he tends to say things he doesn’t mean. His longest-lasting relationship is three months, and that was one of the Healers that used to work at the Dragon Reserve before they got into an argument and she transferred out. Despite Charlie being my brother, you have my loyalty.”

“I don’t want your loyalty.”

“Well you have it,” she shrugged. “Whether you want it or not. My priority is Seth and his happiness, which just so happens to tie into your happiness. I don’t want you to get hurt because of my brother, you’ve been through enough as it and I wish to protect you from it. Brother or not, us girls have to stick together,” she smiled at Leah; this was the longest conversation they’d ever had.

“Charlie, he genuinely likes you,” Hermione admitted. “You’ve caught his attention which is a difficult thing to do. He’ll shower you with gifts and compliments, he’ll treat you like you’re the only girl in the world but his priority is his job.”

“I know it is,” Leah responded, a slight blush to her cheeks.

“Good, then things between you should be fine, better than fine even. You may not see him as often as you’d like, a long distance relationship is difficult, but if you both put in the effort, I see no reason why it can’t work between the two of you. He’ll send you letters and gifts with his owl, which will automatically come to me and I’ll pass them along to you. If you would like to send a letter, then you may do so and you can use my owl, Shadow.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Leah, I’m sure you’ve noticed the ring on my finger, as well as heard the packs’ thoughts on my relationship with Seth.” She nodded in response, her head tipping to the side slightly. “Someday I would love to be your brother’s wife. And that means that we’re going to be sisters. I want for us to be able to get along, to trust each other. I want for you to be comfortable enough to come to me if you’re troubled, or if you want to get something off your chest, even if it’s to complain about my brother, because I assure you, he’s a pain in the arse, they all are.” Leah’s lip twitched. “And, you have to admit, there’s far too many males surrounding us, between my magic and your insider knowledge, just think of the chaos we could wreck on their unsuspecting selves.”

Leah smirked and an understanding passed between them, which brought Hermione closer to gaining Leah’s trust.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 5

**Friday 8th September 2006**

Hermione escaped her memories when she bolted awake in bed, her body shaking as tears fell forcefully down her face and her eyes searched for Seth, but he wasn’t there.

He’d woken her during the night as he’ had patrols and he said he would only be gone a couple of hours. Looking up at the clock, she saw that had been six hours ago, it was currently six in the morning, and he wasn’t there with her.

Worry filled her, she didn’t know why, but she had a bad feeling and it was making her skin crawl.

 _‘Seth? Seth? Where are you?’_ She thought in a panic, as she gripped at her necklace and she waited for a reply which came immediately.

 _‘Hermione, I’m sorry.’_ She could practically hear the guilt and pain in his words.

_‘Where are you? When are you coming home? You’ve been gone hours.’_

_‘I can’t come back, something’s happened.’_

Hermione stopped breathing.

_‘Don’t move; I’m coming to you.’_

_‘Hermione, don’t, it’s not sa...’_ She didn’t allow the rest of his words through as she dropped her hold on her necklace.

She jumped out of bed, leaving on Seth’s t-shirt and she pulled on the jeans she had taken off the evening before. She grabbed the first pair of shoes that she could find before summoning her beaded bag and then she activated the Locator Charm on Seth’s necklace and when she got a lock on his location, she spun on her heel and apparated to Seth.

~000~000~000~

As she landed, she noted that she was surrounded by trees but there was light coming from behind her and so she turned around. She was not expecting to see a large house made entirely of glass and white bricks, and it looked as though every room in the house was illuminated with light.

She blinked against the light and she spun around when she heard rustling coming from the trees, her wand was pointed but she lowered it immediately when Seth came into view, pulling on his jeans and fastening them closed. She’d moved over to him and thrown her arms around him before he could blink and he held her tightly against him, feeling her body shaking in his hold.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, knowing that her nightmares had plagued her and he hadn’t been there to protect her from them.

He knew the moment he saw her. Her eyes were red and puffy and she had tearstains on her cheeks. She looked tired, frightened, panicked.

“What’s happened? I _know_ something’s wrong, I knew the moment I woke up and you weren’t there.”

He pulled back from her to look down at her but he didn’t release her from his hold.

“Hermione, it’s not safe for you here, you have to lea...” His words cut off when he saw the terrifying glare on her face, a glare he had only seen her twin brothers be on the receiving end of. “We’ve got a problem,” he settled for.

“And that is?”

“It’s...I don’t know how to explain,” he sighed.

“Where are we? What is this place?”

“Don’t you recognise it? We’re at the Cullen’s house,” he felt her stiffen in his arms.

She looked behind her. Now that he mentioned it, the house _did_ look familiar; they had driven past it when they came for the wedding. She turned her gaze back to him, she didn’t need to speak for him to know that he should explain things, and explain them quickly.

“Something happened, an emergency pack meeting was called and it didn’t go as planned. Sam gave an Alpha order to Jacob but he disobeyed, and when he did that, he broke away from the pack, becoming an Alpha himself.” Hermione gasped loudly, her arms tightening around Seth. “I didn’t agree with Sam’s orders and I followed Jacob. Now, we’re traitors to the pack and we aren’t allowed on Quileute land. It’s why I couldn’t come to you. If they’d have seen me, it wouldn’t have ended well.”

“No,” she shook her head. “They would never hurt you. Jared, Paul, Quil, Embry and the pups, they just wouldn’t, they love you.”

“If they were given an Alpha order, they wouldn’t have a choice,” he said softly.

Her mind was swirling with hundreds of thoughts, and it was happening so quickly, it was making her dizzy.

“Why are we here? What’s caused all of this mess?”

“It’s...”

“Hermione! Thank God!”

She turned in Seth’s arms to see Jacob exiting the house and descending the steps of the porch, skipping most of them as he quickly made his way over to her. She had only seen him the previous evening and he’d looked fine, in fact, the last time she saw him, he was laughing his arse off because Collin and Brady had slipped one of the twins’ pranking products into an unsuspecting Embry’s drink.

And if Seth not coming home hadn’t of worried her, then Jacob’s appearance definitely would’ve. He looked exhausted, frightened, worried and troubled. So different to the carefree, laughing teenager she had seen the night before.

What the hell was going on?

She had barely stepped out of Seth’s arms when Jacob pulled her into his, hugging her tightly and taking comfort from her presence. He was like Harry is so many ways, it was unnerving.

“You look like crap,” she told him.

He snorted at her. “Don’t spare my feelings, will ya?”

“I’ve never lied to you and I’m not going to start now,” she replied, pulling back from him. “Now, tell me what the hell’s going on. Why am I here? What the bloody hell happened with the pack? Why are you traitors? Why can’t you return?” She fired off.

He blinked and then sighed tiredly, rubbing a hand over his face.

“It’s complicated, and we’re in a very _delicate_ situation. I’m glad you’re here actually, we have no idea what we’re dealing with and I think you’ll have a better chance of figuring it out.”

Her eyes flickered to the house and back to the faces of her boyfriend and friend.

“Does this have something to do with Bella?” She asked with narrowed eyes. He nodded. “She’s still alive?”

“For now,” he muttered and she narrowed her eyes further. “It’s better if I just showed you. I know you don’t like her and I know how you feel about the Cullens, but will you please do this for me, _I_ need your help.”

She looked into his desperate eyes and to Seth, who also looked worried.

She sighed defeat and then nodded. “Whatever it is, if I can help, I will, but I’m only doing it for you. If you disagree with Sam’s orders, then there must be a justified reason, I know you and if it’s one thing you are, it’s loyal.”

“Thank you, Hermione,” Jacob replied gratefully, pulling her into a hug and he sighed when she projected her feelings onto him, allowing him to feel her determination to help him, her trust in him and her love for him.

“But know this, if any of them start, I’ll be spitting venom of my own.”

Jacob and Seth shared a look before laughter bubbled from them, lightening the atmosphere around them.

“That is something I’d pay to see,” he said through chuckles.

“Pay? You get to see if for free, I know, I’m too generous.” They chuckled and shook their heads at her. “Lead the way,” she gestured to the house with a wave of her hand.

Jacob gave her one last grateful look before he turned and headed towards the house. Seth looked behind him to the woods before he took Hermione’s hand in his and they both walked to the house, stepping through the door and into a hallway that led to an open planned living room and kitchen. It was filled with large and plush furniture, expensive-looking art adorned the walls and vases were on tables and a large TV was sat on the wall above the large fireplace.

As they entered, all of the Cullen’s stood from their seats, the empath and his mate, stood off to the side away from the others, their eyes focused on her. The Ice Queen stood in front of something which she couldn’t see, and the mind reader stood behind it, his eyes narrowed on her and she bit back a laugh when she felt him nudging pitifully at her Occlumency shields which were firmly in place. The doctor and his wife were stood to the side of whatever it was Ice Queen was trying to hide from her.

“We don’t need her help,” the mind reader spat, his eyes turning to glare at Jacob, who stood at the side of her protectively, whilst Seth stood on her other side.

“Yes, you do.”

“But she’s human,” the large vampire that completed the coven waltzed into the room, his head tilted to the side in a confused manner, but he didn’t appear to have any hostility towards her. In fact, he seemed amused that she was there.

“Well spotted, your eyesight hasn’t failed you on this account,” she complimented. She blinked when a boom of a laugh left him and he paid no mind as Edward glared at him.

“Not to be rude,” the doctor stepped forward, looking between Hermione, Jacob and Seth before his eyes landed solely on her. “But I don’t understand how you can be of any help to our current situation.”

“Neither do I, since no one’s actually told me what the hell’s going on,” she glared at Jacob and then Seth and they both shifted on their feet.

The vampire’s looked to each before Rosalie reluctantly moved to the side.

The now Bella Cullen, sat on the couch, still alive and still human, that much was obvious, but she didn’t look well at all. Her gaunt frame looked too fragile to touch, her skin was a sickly grey colouring and Hermione could almost see every bone in her body. And despite her unwell appearance, she found the strength to glare at Hermione.

She turned her gaze to Jacob and Seth and Jacob sighed.

“Bella, she might be the only one that can help.”

“I don’t need her help!” She all but hissed.

“Allow me to state the obvious, since you’re too thick to do it yourself, you clearly _do_ need help. I don’t know what’s going on, but judging by your appearance, you look to be on your death bed, human death bed, that is.”

The large vampire chuckled and the Ice Queen’s mouth twitched but she kept her eyes on Hermione.

“Do you want her to die?” Jacob spoke to the mind reader, sounding exhausted, as though they had already spoken of this issue many times before.

The mind reader’s eyes fell down to Bella and he gave her a pleading look. Bella glared but with the help of the Ice Queen, she stood up and the blanket that had been covering her frail frame dropped to the floor.

Hermione’s eyes widened to the point where it actually hurt. Her breath caught and she was lost for words at what met her sight.

The rounded stomach that could only mean one thing.

Pregnancy.


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Friday 8th September 2006**

“Hermione? Can you help?” Jacob asked softly, not liking the look of horror on her face, and he noticed that the other vampires picked up on her reaction, too.

“She’s... Horrified, confused, conflicted, surprised,” the empath spoke, his eyes trained on her and he didn’t like her reaction either; she’d appeared to have gone into shock. Jasper sent a wave of calm over to her and her eyes snapped to him.

“On this _one_ occasion, I will thank you for your assistance in gaining my bearings,” she told him softly, surprising everyone in the room. “But do so again without my permission and you will lose your head,” she warned, the large vampire sniggering at the threat. 

She took a deep breath and her eyes found Bella once more.

“Please tell me you’ve gotten fat and you’re not pregnant,” Hermione all but pleaded.

“It’s a confirmed pregnancy,” the doctor spoke, watching her reaction to the news carefully, especially as she paled.

“Please tell me you were pregnant _before_ the wedding and you cheated on him.”

“Edward’s the father,” the doctor spoke.

The room was deadly quiet as Hermione’s eyes screwed shut tightly, a wave of nausea washed over her and bile began to rise in her throat.

“Hermione!” Seth and Jacob both called as her face turned a sickly green and she swayed on her feet.

She clamped her hand over her mouth and then darted to the kitchen, reaching the sink just in time as the contents of her stomach were emptied into the sink. She continued to cough as she dry heaved, even as everything in her stomach was gone.

Seth was beside her, holding her hair back and rubbing a hand over her back comfortingly, oblivious to the way everyone but Bella was staring at her in horror. Her reaction wasn’t a good one and they all knew it. 

A glass of water appeared to the side of her and she lifted her head, to the see the wife of the doctor holding it out to her with a concerned expression. Hermione took it from her and swirled out her mouth, trying to rid the taste of the vomit to prevent her from doing it again. She ran the tap to clean the sink and then downed the rest of the water, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

She turned around, seeing that everyone was staring at her.

“Hermione?” Jacob questioned. “D’you know what’s happening? Have you come across it before?”

She shook her head.

They weren’t sure if she was answering him or trying to clear her head of the thoughts that were running through her mind.

“I haven’t come across this situation before,” she said slowly, taking a deep breath.

“Hermione, you vomited when you learned the truth!” Jacob’s voice rose in alarm.

“I... I’ve heard rumours.”

“Rumours?” The doctor frowned. “I haven’t heard anything remotely similar to a situation such as Bella’s pregnancy.”

“You won’t have, you don’t have access to the resources that I do, nor do you have the connections that I do,” she responded. She pushed away from the sink and closed her eyes, clearing her thoughts. “As I’ve said, I’ve heard rumours, whether they’re true or not or if they have any significance, I don’t know. I’ll have to scour my libraries,” she frowned but leaned back into Seth as he wrapped his arms around her.

She caught sight of the time on the clock and turned to Seth.

“You should be at school,” she told him.

“I’m needed here,” he shrugged.

“No,” she shook her head. “Seth, education is everything, believe me, I had one of the best educations available even if it was interrupted due to circumstances of war, yet I still graduated and I got some of the best experiences of my life from school. I won’t allow your education to suffer because of this situation we’ve suddenly found ourselves sucked into. You too, Jacob,” she turned to him.

“I’m needed here,” he repeated Seth’s word.

Her eyes narrowed and Jacob shifted on his feet nervously at the action.

“I’m sure they can manage a few hours without you, I won’t allow your education to suffer.”

“But the pack might...” He made to argue but Hermione interrupted.

“I’ll take care of it,” she promised. He shared a look with a Seth. “Do you remember when we first met? Do you remember what happened?”

His brow furrowed in concentration before his eyes lit in understanding.

“You can do that here, on the property?”

She sighed. “I don’t particularly _want_ to, but, yes, I can, and I will do so if you wish me to.”

“Please?” He looked at her desperately.

“Bloody puppy dog eyes,” she muttered and Seth chuckled, placing a kiss to her cheek. “Then yes, I will, but only if you go to school.”

“Does someone want to explain what it is you’re talking about?” The large vampire injected.

“No,” the trio replied in unison.

He blinked. “Can’t argue with that,” he said amusedly.

“You can’t return to your land, but I can, you can take my car, it’s where I usually hide it. I’ll grab your school supplies and leave them in the car for you,” Hermione spoke.

“If the pack find out you’re here, they won’t allow you back on Quileute land,” Jacob told her.

“Do you really think that?” She questioned.

“She’s got a point; they’re frightened of her, especially after that stunt she and Leah pulled last week,” Seth reminded him.

Hermione smirked and Jacob blinked dumbly, he remembered that incident _very_ well, and it had been _terrifying_. Never again did he wish to witness such a thing, it was a thing of nightmares.

“I can handle the pack, I have to return home to get to my library anyway. Meet me at my car, I’ll whip you up a quick lunch whilst I’m home.”

“You’re not going to cook it are you?” Seth eyed her warily.

She huffed indignantly and Jacob sniggered.

“No, but now I might for that comment.”

“It’s a good job I have a strong stomach then,” he quipped.

She pulled away from him and smacked at his arm for his comment before storming out of the house and to the cover of the trees, apparating to her tent.

~000~000~000~

She had just dropped off the boys’ school bags and lunches at the car and after hugging them and promising to be careful where the pack was concerned, she left them with her car keys and apparated back to her tent.

As she entered her tent, she became aware of the five pack members sat in her living room, and obviously waiting for her. Paul, Jared, Quil, Embry and Sam turned their eyes on her as she stepped into her home.

“You know,” Sam stated before she could speak, his eyes narrowed slightly.

She nodded and walked over to the armchair, sitting down and her head fell into her hands.

“You’re against us?”

“I’m not against either of you,” she sighed, her voice muffled by her hands before she lifted her head. “I don’t know of the order that you gave, but I know Jacob, and I know Seth better, better than myself in fact, and neither of them would disobey an order unless they thought it justified.”

“Bella is to be killed and the _thing_ inside of her destroyed.”

Her wide eyes snapped to his before she darted a glance around the room, seeing that the other pack members didn’t look pleased but they didn’t argue with the Alpha either.

“Well, then, I’m glad they disobeyed you.”

“You’re going to be a traitor to the pack, too?” His voice deepened and his hands clenched into fists as his face pinched in anger.

She frowned. “No,” she answered honestly, her conflicting words confusing them. “Whatever the situation, Bella may be a bloody idiot and I may not like her, but that doesn’t mean I wish her dead, nor that she should be killed. She is what you swore to protect, she is _human_ ,” she reminded them. “Killing changes a person, I should know, I’ve killed before, humans, vampires _and_ werewolves, and although it was a life or death situation, I will never accept what I did, because to accept it means that what I did was right and it wasn’t. I took another life, regardless of the circumstances. Killing leaves a dark stain on your soul, it fractures it and you’ll never feel the same again, take it from someone who knows.”

“We’ve destroyed vampires!” Sam protested.

“They’re already dead, it doesn’t count. Trust me on this, if you were to kill Bella, you would regret it. I disagree on the killing of Bella, but when it comes to her pregnancy...” She trailed off, a horrified look flittering in her eyes before she shook her head.

“You know something?” Jared pressed, shifting forward in his seat.

“Jacob and Seth has asked me to help, and although the pack has my loyalty and always will, Seth is my number one priority, as is his happiness and safety. I can’t allow him to be near the Cullens without my presence; I need to be sure that I’m there in case anything goes wrong, so I can defend both him and Jacob. In regards to the pregnancy, I’ve heard rumours, but I can’t be sure if they’re of any significance. I’m going to research this until I’ve learned everything I can, I have resources available to me that the Cullens don’t and it’s clear to me they have no idea what they’re dealing with. But if this pregnancy turns out to produce anything that will be harmful, you have my word that I will take care of it.”

Sam eyed her wearily.

“If you so require it, then I will make an Unbreakable Vow with you. You have my loyalty, as does Seth and Jacob, but as I said, Seth must come first and he has asked me to help figure out what’s going on, so I will do my best. I need to know what I’m dealing with if Bella makes it to labour, whatever‘s inside of her, it’s killing her, that much is obvious. I won’t allow any harm to come to Jacob or Seth, nor will I allow any harm to come to any of you,” she promised, giving them a moment to allow her words to sink in.

“Jacob’s worried that you’ll attack and he’s asked that I put wards around the Cullen’s house to prevent you from getting in.” All eyes snapped to her. “I _will_ be doing so later, I’m just warning you to not get too close as I don’t want you to get injured if you were to run into them again. The wards can only cover a small radius, due to the size of the property, but it’ll definitely keep you from getting to the house. I’ll be gone in an hour or so, I need to be close to Seth and Jacob and I know neither of them will want to stay in the Cullen’s property, so they’ll stay with me. I’ll keep them safe and fed, and I won’t allow this situation to interrupt their education, speaking of...” She turned her attention to Embry and Quil who shifted under her stare. “Shouldn’t the two of you be at school? You’re seniors this year, are you not?” She said with a raised eyebrow.

Their eyes moved to Sam questioningly and he nodded at them so they both stood and looked at her and she smiled softly.

“I won’t allow any harm to come to Jacob from the Cullens, however, if he pisses me off, I can’t promise I won’t hex him.”

Their mouths twitched in amusement before they left out the tent, leaving her, Sam, Jared and Paul.

“I think we’ve said everything that needs to be said,” Sam spoke and he stood, his packmates followed him,

"Promise me you’ll keep the pups out of this,” she pleaded.

He took a breath. “I promise I’ll keep them out of this.”

“Thank you,” she sighed in relief.

An understanding passed between them. They weren’t enemies but they weren’t technically allies either. Yet she was still loyal to them, and he knew she wouldn’t harm his pack. He nodded before leaving out the tent with his packmates, leaving her alone.

She ran her hands over her face before she stood and went about preparing her tent for moving.

~000~000~000~

She was walking through the woods, towards her apparition point when she noticed a figure slumped on the ground and leaning against a tree, and she stepped closer.

“Paul?” She questioned in surprise. He looked up at her, he looked tired and defeated. “Oh, Paul,” she said softly, “What happened?” She asked him, sitting down beside him.

“Why did this have to happen?” He asked her, looking lost and she felt her heart breaking for him. “Everything was going fine. Everyone was happy, the pack was closer than ever, we were learning about a new world that was more accepting of us, and we were friends with people that we didn’t have to hide ourselves from. You and Seth were happy, Sam and Emily, Jared and Kim, Quil and Claire, even Leah’s been happier since meeting your brother, and everything just goes and fucks up, all because the fucking leech couldn’t keep it in his pants long enough to wait for her to be turned.”

“I know, but there’s nothing either of us can do about the situation we’ve been brought in to. To be honest with you, I have a bad feeling about what’s to come.” He tilted his head down, staring at her. “Whatever’s been conceived between Bella and the mind reader, I don’t think it’s good news, and I’ll make sure I’m prepared to deal with it before a war can break out and the damage done can’t be fixed. I want the pack to be whole again, I want them to be laughing because Seth’s embarrassed about our sex life, I want them to be laughing because the pups have slipped something into someone’s food, and I want everyone to be afraid of what Leah and I may be up to.”

His mouth twitched in amusement. He had to admit, it was genius, horrifying, but genius and no one was safe when Hermione and Leah put their heads together.

“I want everything to go back to the way it was but life doesn’t always give us what we want, but maybe it gives us what we need. Once this whole fiasco blows over, it may bring the pack back together and closer than ever, you never know what life has in store for you.”

He watched as she dug into her beaded bag that was slung over her shoulder and she emerged with a handful of vials filled with a familiar potion, and she handed them over to him.

“There should be enough Calming Draught to last you a month, hopefully, everything will be dealt with by then and I can come home, but I doubt you’ll need it all, you’ve been doing remarkably,” she praised softly. “Paul, whether I am here for you or not, you will always have my support, regardless of the circumstances surrounding us.”

She shifted and he recognised the movement and he turned to accept her comforting hug, wrapping his arms around her, and he sighed when she placed a kiss to his cheek.

“I won’t allow any harm to come to you and I will _always_ protect you,” she whispered her promise, “Especially from those that are supposed to protect you.”

He stiffened at the meaning behind her words.

“Hermione, what did you do?” He asked cautiously, yet he still held her to him in a hug.

“You don’t ever have to worry about your father again,” she promised him and he pulled away from her, staring at her with wide eyes. “You didn’t honestly think I didn’t know, did you?” She questioned. “Theo’s father was an abusive bastard and I noticed the similarities in you, plus, I overhead the pack speaking of it. The only difference between your father and Theo’s is the element of magic. Your father used his fists, Theo’s used his wand.”

“What did you do?” He asked quietly.

“You don’t ever have to worry about your father again,” she repeated, avoiding the question and refusing to answer. He wasn’t sure if that was worse than her telling him.

He closed his eyes. “Will he survive?” 

“Unfortunately,” she replied and he opened his eyes.

Now that he thought about it, his father tended to avoid him when he was home, which wasn’t often, to be honest. He often crashed at Jared’s house as his mother worked the night shifts at the local hospital with her being a nurse. And when he did have a run-in with his father, his eyes would cloud over and a look of fear would fill his face before he ran from the room. What had she done to him? Whatever it was, it wasn’t physical as he couldn’t see any physical injuries.

“You’re safe from him. And now I better make a pit-stop to Billy’s and Sue’s, so I can explain everything to them, I don’t want them to worry.”

She pulled her wand and he looked down as she tapped it to the necklace she had given him, which he had yet to take off. It glowed red before returning to normal and he looked back up to her.

“If you need me for any reason at all, even if it’s just to complain about how much Jared’s doing your head in, all you have to do is tap the galleon twice and it will send an alert to me. If and when I am able to meet with you, I will send an alert back to you, and we’ll meet in this spot, okay?”

“Thank you, Hermione.”

She smiled at him softly. “I just want the best for you and I want you to be happy,” she told him, placing a final kiss to his cheek before she rose to her feet and walked away.

“Hermione!” He called.

She halted in her steps and twisted to look behind her. “Yes?”

“I...I...” He hesitated before he took a deep breath and his jaw ticked, his eyes slowly opening.

“I love you.”

She blinked in surprise. “I love you, too,” she said with a slight frown.

“No,” he shook his head before standing and slowly walking over to her, stopping in front of her.

“I’m _in_ love with you.”


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 8

**Friday 8th September 2006**

Her eyes widened and she stopped breathing.

“Paul, I...”

“I know, you love Seth,” he interrupted, not that there was something for him to interrupt; she was speechless. “I just needed you to know that I love you.”

“You don’t even know me,” she protested softly.

“That’s where you’re wrong, I know you better than you think. I know that your eyes crinkle when you’re trying to stop yourself from laughing. I know you bite your lip when you’re concentrating. I know you tug on your hair when you’re stressed. I know your nose twitches when you need to sneeze. I know that when you’re agitated, you tug at your clothing. I know that you prefer lasagne over shepherd’s pie. I know that you take your tea with no sugar and a third milk. I know you like to drink orange juice when you have a headache. I know that you love Disney and your favourite’s _Beauty and the Beast_. I know you’re a kind and caring person. I know you’d give your life if it meant saving the life of someone you care about, and I know you wouldn’t hesitate to do the same for an innocent stranger.”

She blinked slowly.

“And I know I love you.” His hand lifted to her chin and he tilted her head up, his dark eyes boring into hers. “And no matter how happy I am for Seth having found you, I can’t help feeling jealous when the subject of your sex life is brought up. I can’t help feeling jealous when I see the way you look at him, when I see him holding you, and I can’t help feeling jealous when I see him kissing you.” The pad of his thumb softly trailed her bottom lip and she took a step back from him, his hand falling to his side.

“Paul, I don’t want to hurt you,” she replied, tears gathering her eyes.

“I know you don’t, and I know you love Seth, and I know you love me, just not in the way I want you to.”

“I...” She took a deep breath, pushing back the tears that were threatening to fall. “If Seth hadn’t of imprinted on me and I’d have met you first, I’m certain I could’ve easily fallen in love you. Despite what you think of yourself, you’re a very easy person to love and anyone would be lucky to have you.”

“And yet, I only want you,” he stepped forward and she stepped back.

“I don’t know what to do, there’s nothing I can say to make things better for you. And I’m sorry for that, but one day you’ll meet someone and the way you feel about me will be nothing compared to the way you’ll feel about her.”

“I doubt it,” he mumbled, his eyes landing on her mouth and she took another step back. “Can I kiss you?” He asked quietly. Her eyes widened. “I just... I just need to know what it feels like, so that I can try to put this behind me. I don’t want to ruin our friendship but I couldn’t keep my feelings from you any longer.”

“I can’t betray Seth in that way,” she told him.

“Seth would never judge you.”

“No, but I would never forgive myself if I allowed you to kiss me. I can’t jeopardise my relationship with Seth, I love him, I need him in every aspect of my life and someday, I am going to be his wife.”

He, of course, already knew that from the chatter of the mind link and Jacob being unable to keep a secret from Sue, so practically everyone knew before Jacob could spill the beans to the pack as Sue had gotten there first.

He knew he was being unfair to her, that he was being selfish. He had no idea how things would play out and he had to tell her his feelings for her, as is may be the last time he saw her.

“I’m sorry, Paul. I love you, I do, but as a friend and little brother, and we can’t be anything more,” she told him quietly.

She then turned around and began walking away, she’d barely travelled a few feet when a hand reached out to grab her arm and she was spun around to face Paul.

“I’m sorry, forgive me,” he whispered pleadingly, looking down at her before he lowered his head and placed a kiss to her forehead.

“You and I both know I can’t stay upset with you for long,” she replied, giving him a watery smile before she backed away from him.

The last thing he heard was a ‘crack’ echoing in the silence and the last thing he saw was her tear-filled eyes.

~000~000~000~

“You know, don’t you?” Hermione whispered, her eyes briefly moving from the floor to look at Leah as she stood in the living room of her tent.

Hermione had managed to hold herself together long enough to visit Sue and Billy and ensure them that she would keep their children safe, she then apparated back to the Cullens’ property and pitched up her tent in the woods that surrounded the house. The moment she sat down on the couch, her tears fell.

“Yeah,” Leah replied, moving to sit on the floor beside the couch, leaning back against it.

“How do you know?”

“I was nearby and I heard your conversation,” she shrugged.

“I feel awful.”

“You did the right thing,” Leah answered in that emotionless tone she often spoke in. “Paul knew what he was getting himself into when he told you. It didn’t come as a shock though, the entire pack knows that he’s in love with you, even Seth.”

“Seth never told me and he never appeared to be awkward around Paul.”

“Seth never told you ‘cause he wanted to avoid this,” Leah gestured to Hermione pointedly, as she was currently curled up in a ball as she lay on the couch, a blanket cocooning her and her head resting on a pillow as she silently cried.

“And Seth was never awkward around Paul ‘cause he knows you love him. There was no point in him getting jealous over the situation, at the end of the day, he’s the one that imprinted on you, not Paul, which means that you were meant for him and only him. If you had chosen Paul, it would’ve broken him but he would’ve stepped back, as long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters, that’s the way the imprint works.”

“It’s stupid,” she muttered childishly and Leah snorted in agreement; she had her own issues with the bonding. “I don’t want to hurt either of them.”

“But it was inevitable, and you chose Seth. Paul will get over it, he’s been keeping his feelings to himself for a while now and he’ll continue to do so until he realises that you’re not the one for him.”

“I just want him to be happy but it can’t be with me.”

“Like I said, he’ll get over it, and you have no reason to feel guilty for hurting him. You were more than understanding of his feelings for you and you broke the news to him the best you could, without totally ripping out his heart. That’s it, it’s over.”

Hermione sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve and the two women sat in silence.

“What are you doing here?” Hermione asked.

“I left the pack.”

“You hate Bella,” Hermione pointed out.

“So do you, I imagine I’m here for the same reason as you.”

“To protect Seth and Jacob.”

“Exactly, but mainly Seth, I don’t care if he has the same capabilities as the rest of us, he’s still sixteen.”

“With an eighteen-year-old witch for a girlfriend,” Hermione injected and Leah snorted.

“I don’t really care what happens to _her_ , or any of them for that matter, my priority is Seth’s and Jacob’s safety and making sure that whatever this pregnancy results in is taken care of.”

“Agreed,” Hermione mumbled. “Have you seen her?”

“Only through Jacob’s thoughts at the pack meeting. Have you?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“No, but that didn’t stop me from throwing up in their kitchen sink.” Leah frowned at her; obviously that was _not_ a good reaction. “I’ve heard rumours, whether they’re of any significance or not I’m not sure yet. I’m going to do some research, and I suppose I better get started,” she sighed, throwing the blanket off herself, standing up and stretching. “Do you mind sharing a room with Jacob?”

“Excuse me?” She questioned, standing up also.

“My tent only has two rooms and there’s not a chance in hell I’m letting any of you sleep outside. So, you can either share with me, and Seth and Jacob can share, or you can share a room with Jacob. And with the nightmares I have when Seth’s not with me, I don’t think it’s fair for me to disturb you.”

Leah tilted her head slightly.

“I know it’s a little awkward considering you’re twenty-two and he’s seventeen, but I can put privacy wards in the room, basically splitting it in half, it’s big enough.” Leah nodded in agreement and Hermione smiled. “Great, we’ll do that now, let’s go.”

Hermione made her way to the spare room and entered it, with a flick of her wand she duplicated the double bed and placed it on the other side of the room before enlarging the bed to a queen-sized and doing the same to the other. She then placed a barrier down the centre of the room, and Leah blinked when a shimmering blue shield parted the room into two.

“The privacy wards are in place, they’ll be effective when both of you are in the room, any sound will be distorted as if you’re underwater and the same for sight. I’m afraid you’ll have to share the wardrobe, and the four of us will be sharing the bathroom, too. Did you happen to bring any of your clothes with you?” Leah shook her head. “Right, I’ve plenty that should fit you, I know Seth has clothes here anyway, and I still have men’s clothing here for when Harry visits, so that should cover Jacob,” she thought aloud. “I’ll be placing wards around the house to keep the pack away, but since the house is so big, I can’t cover a large area of the woods, so they’ll be able to get close. I can’t make a start on the wards until Seth and Jacob get back as I need all three of you to be present.”

“Do you have magical barriers around the tent?” She asked, looking towards the Cullens house with a glare on her face despite being inside and not being able to see it. “I do, yes, I have anti-vampire wards around the tent, meaning they can’t get in, but seeing as this is their property, they can still get close to it. If they were to set foot in here, they’ll burst into flames.”

Leah smirked.

“Oh, I forgot,” Hermione said, making her way back to the living room and heading over to the coffee table, patting Shadow and Terry on the heads as she walked past where they were perched on the back of the armchair.

“Charlie sent this,” she picked up the letter and the small package and handed it to Leah, noting that she tried to hide a smile but failed. “I take it things are going well,” Hermione commented.

Leah looked up at her. “As well as they can be.”

“I’m glad, if you want to send a reply, I’m sending Terry back in the morning, so it needs to be ready by then.”

Leah nodded before heading out of the tent, presumably to patrol the woods in case the pack decided to show up.

Hermione turned her attention to her bookcases, pulling every magical creatures book she had, including some on mythology and legends. She piled them high on the coffee table and began researching.

~000~000~000~

“How long have you been sat there?”

Hermione looked up away from her book when Seth’s voice flittered to her ears and both he and Jacob stood in front of her. She frowned.

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at school?” she blinked, rubbing her hands over her face and she winced at the pain she felt in her neck.

“Hermione, it’s nearly four o’clock,” Seth frowned at her worriedly.

“What? No, it’s not, it’s only...” she looked up at the clock and her eyes widened. “Four o’clock,” she mumbled, looking back down at her book.

“How long have you been sat there?” Jacob repeated with a frown of his own.

“I don’t know, maybe since nine this morning?”

“Hermione!” Seth exclaimed, struggling to contain his worry. “Please tell me you’ve eaten and had your nap.” The look she gave him told him everything he needed to know. “Hermione!”

“I’m sorry, I’ve been doing research since I sat down, I guess I just forgot,” she replied sheepishly.

“Hermione, we need your help, but not at the cost of your health,” Jacob said before Seth could.

“But...”

“No, Bella’s my friend, but she made her choice and I won’t allow your health to suffer because of her decisions. Your health comes before knowledge,” he said. She looked down at the books covering the table in guilt. Jacob sighed. “I’m sorry, but I need you to understand that your health is important, not only to Seth but to me, too. You already have enough to deal with and I don’t want to put any added stress or pressure on you. Okay?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry, I just got distracted, it happens when I have a new project to work on. Ask Harry, you should’ve seen me at school when it came to end of year exams.”

They shook their heads at her.

“I’ll make dinner, I’ll see what I have to work with,” Jacob said, dropping his backpack to the floor and making his way to the kitchen.

“You can cook?” She said surprised.

“Well, dad can’t, so I had to learn to cook so we didn’t have to live off takeout,” he shrugged as he rummaged through her cupboards.

“Can you cook?” She turned to Seth, realising that she didn’t know; she hadn’t seen him make anything other cereal or a sandwich.

“Nope, we’ll be living off takeout,” he said and she laughed at him.

~000~000~000~

”So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Seth asked, holding her hand as they wandered through the woods on the property of the Cullens’ house.

“Something happened today,” she told him, guilt beginning to surface.

“What?” He stopped in their walking and she turned to face him. He frowned when he saw the guilty look in her eyes.

“Lower the shield,” she told him. A look of concentration filled his face and he nodded when it was done.

She pulled her wand and with her eyes locked on his, she whispered, “ _Legilimens_.”

She was inside of his mind for all but a second whilst she pushed her memories over to him. When she pulled back, there was a blank look on his face as he processed what she’d just given him and then his hand tightened on hers and anger flickered through his eyes before he took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry,” he told her, looking at her sadly.

“No, I’m sorry; I didn’t know what to say to him, I didn’t want to hurt him, Seth. I feel awful.”

“It’s not your fault,” he told her softly. “It’s not. I should’ve told you about Paul, but I didn’t want to make things difficult for you.”

“I love him, but as a friend and brother.”

“I know you do, I only wish I could’ve protected you from that. You have no reason to feel guilty and Paul shouldn’t have put pressure on you. He’s been warned off from you by _every_ member of the pack.”

She looked surprised at the news. “And you?” She questioned.

“Not verbally,” he told her and she frowned at his words. “He knows that you’re my imprint and he knows you’re happy with me, and I know that you love me, better than anyone because I can _feel_ it. I never felt the need to talk to Paul regarding his feelings for you ‘cause there’s nothing neither of us can do about it. But, I’m sorry; I never thought he’d tell you, or that he’d ask if he could kiss you. Please, don’t feel guilty. He’ll get over it.”

He pulled her into him and wrapped her up in a tight hug, placing a kiss to her forehead.

“I love you,” he told her and he sighed when he felt her projecting her feelings onto him. She didn’t have to verbalise her response, but she did anyway.

“I love you more than magic.”

He chuckled at her, placing another kiss to her forehead.

He knew that no matter what was to happen in the future, they’d get through it together.


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 6

**Sunday 10th September 2006**

Two days had passed since Hermione had begun researching what Bella’s pregnancy meant, and she was no closer to where she had been at the start. She spent most of her time with her nose stuck in her books, and she only took breaks when Seth or Jacob forced her to eat or take her nap, and at night, she was pulled away from her research so she could sleep, and the moment she woke, she would return straight to her books.

She’d read through almost every book she had that could contain any useful information on what they were dealing with and it wasn’t hard. With the help of a little magic and a spell she had learned from Madame Pince back at Hogwarts, Hermione was able to use magic to pinpoint certain extracts or chapters that contained keywords or phrases, and it would mark them until she found herself reading it. Through this method, it freed up a lot of her time as she didn’t have to waste it reading through pointless information. And because of this, she only had one book left to read over and she had yet to find anything remotely helpful.

It was early Sunday afternoon when she found herself inside the Cullen’s living room. The room was filled with them all, including Jacob and Seth, and Leah refused to enter the house and was patrolling the land in case they got a surprise visit from the pack.

The Cullens were either sat on the couches or stood close by, whispering between themselves with their eyes focused on Hermione as she sat on the floor, her back pressed against the armchair that Seth was sat in as he massaged her shoulders, and she had her legs pulled up to her chest with a book resting against them, her eyes flickering about the page so fast, they would’ve thought she had super speed herself.

They had tried to get closer to her, to see the book she was reading and the information it contained, but she had threatened them against it, and no one had tried again after that, it seemed even Emmet was smart enough to know when to back off.

Every so often, Hermione’s eyes would lift from her books to glance at Bella before returning to the words in front of her, and every time they hoped that she’d discovered what it was they were dealing with, but she never confirmed or denied anything.

“Hermione, you need to take your nap,” Seth said softly, not stopping his hands working the tension from her aching shoulders and neck, as he leaned down to place a kiss to her cheek.

She sighed. “Just give me time to finish reading this extract and then I’ll take it.”

“No,” he told her. “You said that half an hour ago. We’re not jeopardising your health over this.”

She looked up from her book to look pleadingly at Jacob, but he remained unaffected, sitting in the chair beside them.

“Nope, I’m with Seth on this one. Your health is more important to us than knowledge. Just take your nap and you can continue with your research afterwards, it’s not going anywhere. Maybe you’ll discover something new after having a break away from it.”

“Traitor,” she grumbled, snapping her book shut. “No longer than an hour,” she told both wolves and they nodded in agreement.

She stood and Seth shifted in the armchair before she climbed into his lap and curled up against him, his arms around her, her book held to her chest and her ear pressed over his heart, listening to his steady heartbeat until it lulled her to sleep almost immediately.

“She’s not sleeping, is she?” Jacob asked Seth, once he heard that Hermione’s breathing had evened out and the stress seemed to melt from her face, being replaced by peace.

“No,” he shook his head, running his hand through her hair and she sighed in her sleep, snuggling into him further. “She’s got too much pressure on her, she often wakes in the middle of the night screaming, and she won’t tell me why,” he confessed, looking down at her softly.

“PTSD?” Jacob asked.

“I don’t think so,” Seth shook his head, “She doesn’t get those nightmares when I’m with her, I think it has something to do with the pregnancy and she knows more than she’s letting on.”

“And why wouldn’t she tell us?”

They both turned their attention to the crowd of vampires in the room, of which they had forgotten were present, being too focused on their conversation.

“She may have her suspicions but doesn’t wish to voice them until she’s certain they’re true or not. She may know what we’re dealing with but not how to deal with it and is looking for a way to get a handle on the situation. Hermione’s mind is too brilliant for anyone to possibly understand. I reckon she could give every one of you a run for your money when it comes to academics, even if you have had centuries of education over her,” Seth said proudly and Jacob smirked, knowing that Seth was probably right.

“She is sleeping in our presence, is she now comfortable around us?” Carlisle asked curiously, observing the sleeping witch closely.

“The distrust she has for you is still there, but it has lessened since you haven’t done anything to hurt her or us, and you’ve complied with her wishes of not trying to look at her books or to test her patience. She’s still wary of you but don’t mistake her sleeping in your presence as trust, if you were to do anything, she’d know and she’d be ready for a fight. Trust me when I say, I don’t think you’ve seen anything like her, nor of what she’s capable of. I see it every day and I still find it hard to believe. And no, I’m not going to explain further. If she wants you to know, then she’ll tell you, if not, you won’t learn it from any of us.”

“Why does she dislike us?”

Rosalie snorted. “Carlisle, she _hates_ us,” she corrected.

“She has her reasons and she doesn’t hate you specifically, just your kind,” Jacob answered. “And she has her reasons.”

“You know, don’t you?” Jasper said, his eyes narrowing on him when he felt his emotions flare up protectively towards Hermione.

“Yeah, I do. I’ve seen why she hates vampires and her reasons are more valid than the pack’s.”

They were surprised by that news.

Hermione made a sound in her sleep, drawing their attention and Seth made comforting sounds against her ear and she quieted down.

“She’s sleeping here because if something happens to Bella, she wants to be present so she could hopefully intervene. And you need to trust her,” Jacob said, turning his eyes to Bella, as he knew she was about to protest against needing Hermione’s help. “She’s the only one that’s able to get you out of this fucking mess, stop being a bitch towards her because you’re jealous of my relationship with her. You threw our friendship out the window when you chose him over me and it’s your fault you’re in this mess in the first place.”

Everyone blinked in surprise as Jacob suddenly stood and left the house, heading into the woods in his wolf form.

~000~000~000~

Hermione’s eyes fluttered open and Seth smiled down at her.

“Hey,” he said, pushing her hair away from her face. “How’re you feeling?”

“Better, thank you for forcing me to take my nap.”

He chuckled at her. “Your health comes before all else, even when I have to force you to take care of yourself.”

She stood from his lap and stretched, her eyes locking onto Bella as she was having tests run on her.

“Is the baby’s development still accelerated?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, by my estimation, labour should occur within the next week.”

Hermione frowned disapprovingly. “We need to prevent that from happening for as long as possible.”

“There’s nothing that can be done.”

“There’s nothing _you_ can do for her, I, on the other hand, may have something that can help,” she said, and without elaborating, she turned and left the house, making sure to take her book with her.

Everyone looked to Seth and he shrugged in response, as if he had no idea what she was doing, and to be perfectly honest, he didn’t.

Hermione returned a few moments later and Jacob followed her through the door, back in human form. She held out the mug in her hand to Bella and she looked at it with distrust.

“What is it?”

“I can’t tell you exactly, but hopefully it will slow down the acceleration of your pregnancy. If this works, it can buy us more time to figure this out. So, drink the bloody thing and I don’t care whether it agrees with you or the baby or not, you spit it out or bring it back up, and I’ll shove it down your throat.”

“Charming,” Rosalie snorted.

“I don’t see the point in dilly-dallying around, we don’t have time for it and I don’t have time to concoct several more of these remedies as it’s time-consuming, and I need to focus my attention elsewhere,” she responded before glaring at Bella.

After a nod from Carlisle, who was curious to see what would happen, she took the mug and took a sip before gagging.

“Oh, don’t be a baby,” Hermione huffed. “Just down it for crying out loud, you’ve consumed human blood which is bloody disgusting and the thought alone is worse than the taste of what I’ve given you.”

Bella glared at Hermione but drank the rest of the disgusting liquid before handing the mug back and Hermione silently crossed over to Seth, settling herself down on the ground in front of him and going back to reading her book.

“How long do we have to wait?” Carlisle asked her.

“A few minutes to allow it time to soak into her bloodstream, afterwards, you may run your tests and see if my intervention has been successful,” she answered without taking her attention away from the words in front of her.

The room was tense with the silence as they waited for the time to pass, and when it did, Carlisle immediately set to running the tests.

“Incredible,” he whispered in awe, his eyes lifting to Hermione, who was still looking at her book, and after reading Carlisle’s thoughts, Edward was staring at her in surprise, too.

“What is it?” Alice frowned.

“It’s as if the pregnancy has been rewound. Bella is not due for labour for two months, whereas before it was a week.”

All eyes turned to her and she could feel their stares on her.

“The remedies I gave her have decelerated the baby’s development, as well as de-aged it for the time being.”

“That’s not possible,” Jasper muttered.

“It is,” she disagreed, “Development will continue to be accelerated but it won’t do so at the rate it has previously been, I suspect I’ve bought us a month, but I can’t be sure, so we’ll have to keep monitoring the baby and Bella’s health. I may have a few more remedies that will help to keep her hydrated and reduce the risk of malnutrition, without the baby taking a dislike to it.”

“How do you have access to these remedies? I’ve never heard of anything that can do what you’ve just done,” Carlisle asked.

“I can’t tell you, I’m sworn to secrecy and if I were to tell you, I risk the death penalty. There are a lot of people that wish to see me dead, and they wouldn’t hesitate using my breaking of the law to kill me and then later put my head on a pike for everyone to see.”

“You speak so candidly about death,” Jasper noted.

She shrugged, still not looking up from her book. “If I die, then I die. There are worse things than death and I would know; I’ve faced them. I don’t fear death and when the time comes, I won’t put up a fight, I’ll go quietly and I’ll finally be free.”

Seth growled lowly, not agreeing with her statement of dying.

“Free of what?”

“You tell me, Jasper Whitlock,” she finally lifted her eyes from her book and locked gazes with him. “You were a soldier at one point, what would death bring you? What would you be free of?”

“The memories of war. Of all the things I did. Of the lives I took.”

“Yes, and those apply to me, too,” she said quietly. “I’ve done things I’m not proud of, I’ve taken more lives than I can count, but I made it a point to learn the name of every life that was ended by my hand, so that I would never forget what I had done, what I had been forced to do and forced into. I suffer from a severe case of PTSD, that no medication, remedies and treatments have been able to help with, yet I’m still to take them even though they’re useless. There’s a reason why Seth and Jacob are so strict with me regarding my health. I have to eat more than I used to as I need to keep my sugar levels up to prevent me from falling into a coma. I need to take a nap during the day, as I tire a lot easier than I used to. I have to deal with the memories, some I keep locked away in the darkest parts of my mind as I wish to never think of them again, but they sometimes escape from the prison I keep them in and I’m forced to relive them. I can never escape them, they’re always there, in the back of my mind and running on a loop. I understand you better than anyone in this room ever could.”

In that moment, a sense of understanding passed between them. They may never see eye to eye. They may never like each other or get along, but they understood each other better than anyone else could.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 5

**Sunday 10th September 2006**

“Will you tell us of your war?” She tore her gaze from Jasper to look at Emmet. “You don’t have to go into specifics, I know you don’t want us to know who you are or what you’re capable of, which I imagine is something _way_ awesome, after seeing what you did with Bella’s pregnancy, so you don’t have to tell us anything that may out you.”

She shrugged her shoulders and closed her book, leaning back against the cushions of the armchair and Seth put his hands on her shoulders, to both offer her comfort and to continue massaging the aches and tension out of her neck and shoulders. She turned her eyes to Jacob and he smiled at her.

“You don’t have to explain anything you don’t want to. You’ve had a traumatic past and if bringing it up again will rehash bad memories for you, then you don’t have to explain anything. If you wish to, then we’ll support you.”

She wrapped her arms around her legs that she pulled up to her chest and she rested her chin on her knees, her eyes locking on Jasper’s golden orbs.

“Where I come from, the people I come from, there are several statuses amongst us. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll just say they were upper, middle and lower class, it’s not technically accurate, but it’s the best examples I can come up with, without giving away anything important. As I said, it’s not accurate as my parents were fairly well off with their careers but where I come from, I was considered to be part of the lower class. There was a power-hungry man and he believed that everyone below upper class was vermin that needed to be exterminated, and his plan was to do so and kill anyone he didn’t think was worthy of existence. I had been accepted into a prestigious boarding school at this point, along with my best friend, Harry, who was middle class and the Dictator’s main target, for reasons that are difficult to explain, so I won’t go into it. All you need to know is he was considered to be this Dictator’s downfall, even at the young age he was.”

“We spent seven years fighting off attacks and death attempts, we had some successes and some failures over the years, but we ultimately survived six years before the war became official, and Harry, myself and Ronald were forced to flee school before our final year and go on the run, whilst at the young age of seventeen, we were given a secret mission to find something that would help us to take down the Dictator. During that year, we were the three most wanted people in Europe and we were moving from site to site, and surviving on berries and edible plants, and the odd rabbit, whilst evading capture from the opposing side. Along the way, we faced betrayal, starvation, dehydration, almost fatal injuries and capture. As the end of the year approached and we were getting closer to bringing down the Dictator, we ran into some trouble. We needed information on something and we went to the father of one of our friends, only he turned on us and contacted the opposing side.”

She heard a gasp, but didn’t take her eyes from Jasper’s glowing gaze, it surprisingly helping to ground her, anchor her in her emotions.

“He wished to exchange our lives for his daughter’s, as she’d been captured and was being held prisoner. We fled and we were chased on foot and we managed to evade capture for a short while, until Harry accidentally did something in a fit of rage that got us captured. My friends were placed in the dungeons and I was tortured for information on the resistance and the identities of those involved, which I didn’t reveal and it made things worse for myself. It would’ve put so many good people in danger and I had to protect them. The people we were up against weren’t known for their kindness, more of their raping, murdering and torturing of innocent people and children. They didn’t care for age, sexual orientation, race or gender, the bastards didn’t discriminate in that regard. They just hated those that weren’t part of the upper class.”

She sighed tiredly, fighting off the memories.

“I don’t think I can describe what they did to me or how they tortured me, words can’t actually describe the pain they made me feel and I don’t actually know how long they tortured me for. They were going to kill me when my friends escaped the dungeon with the help of a good friend of ours, a fight ensured and we escaped, but not before our friend died with a knife in his stomach,” she said sadly.

There was another gasp and mutters of sadness in the room.

“He was so loyal to Harry, as in the past he had been a slave to one of the upper-class families and Harry helped to free him of his slavery. And in his freedom, he saved our lives and died, but he died a free man and for that, he was happy. The final battle took place barely a few weeks after our escape and we broke into our school, as the Dictator has taken over it after the previous Headmaster had been murdered, and he had been one of the men the Dictator had feared, and when he died a lot of the hope for the resistance did, too. We took control back of the school, and before I knew it, the battle took place. A lot of good people died that day, parents, friends, students, peers, professors, siblings, family members and comrades, but in the end, we won and Harry killed the Dictator. For the next year, I returned to school to complete my education whereas Harry and Ron went straight into training in the police academy, and they joined in the search for the escaped fugitives that fought for the opposing side. The last fugitives were caught not long ago, and now, the war is officially over. We can put the past behind us but we can’t forget.”

“How old were you when this began for you?” Esme asked softly.

“I was twelve, my friends were both eleven,” she answered, her voice seeming far away as if she wasn’t actually in the room. Esme gasped in surprise, horror and sadness, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as her golden eyes slowly examined. “I was eighteen when we won the war.”

“We have not heard of a war taking place, particularly one that seems so...”

“Violent and monstrous,” Hermione finished for Carlisle. “And that’s because you’re not aware of who or what I am, and the war was kept a secret from those that aren’t allowed to know. Are you aware of the Tower Bridge being destroyed a few years ago? Or the damage that was done to the London Eye? Or to the Houses of Parliament?”

“It was mentioned in the news,” he nodded.

“That was the work of the Dictator,” she said quietly. “He was the definition of the word monster. And I’m glad he’s dead. I’m glad his ideals have died with him and I’m glad the world will never know what it’s like to live under his reign. He didn’t plan to stop at just Britain, he wished to rule the world and he could’ve easily done it, too.”

“How have you fought against vampires?” Jasper asked her, after clearing his throat to get her attention and she lifted her eyes from the floor.

“I can’t say how or why, but they were present during the Final Battle, more than I can remember but we dealt with them.”

“But you’re human,” Emmet tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy.

“Yes, I am, but I am so much more than that. I don’t know if you know of my existence, but if you do and you suddenly learn of my identity and classification, I wouldn’t be surprised if you fled faster than I can blink.”

“What’s your classification?”

“Nice try, but I’m not telling you, it’s the only advantage I have over you. I don’t have super strength or speed and I can’t change into a giant, _giant_ wolf like Jacob and Seth. I need this advantage so I can take you off guard if I need to.”

He arched an eyebrow at her and his lip twitched, considering charging at her, just to see if she would reveal her secret. A shake of the head from Edward told him not to bother.

“It may not be as traumatic or vicious or exciting as you were expecting my explanation of the war to be, but that’s what I was forced to deal with.”

“Along with countless terrifying acts, battles, death attempts, and some awesome aspects which you can’t tell them about,” Jacob injected with an amused smile.

“There’s that, too,” Hermione nodded in agreement with a twitch to her lip.

“Why did you move here?”

She looked up, surprised to see that the question had come from Bella, the permanent scowl she had on her face when Hermione was present had lessened to a furrowed brow.

“It was expected of me and Ron to date, get married and have a hoard of curly redheaded children running around and we’d been tiptoeing around each other for years, so we finally started dating after the war. But it wasn’t right, things between us were strange, and we were more like siblings than lovers, to be honest, but I did my best to put those thoughts to rest since I knew it was expected of me. For a short while, things between us were going great, until they weren’t. We’re somewhat of War Heroes back home, and whereas Harry and I preferred to stay away from the press and limelight, Ronald preferred to be in the centre of it. When I was home from school, he always wished to go out to fancy restaurants or go out drinking in the trendiest bars and clubs, to get our photos in the papers, I just wanted to stay home. After that, information regarding our sex lives started appearing in the papers and there were only two people that were privy to that information and who could’ve revealed that, and it sure as hell wasn’t me. After that, photos of him with other women started appearing in the papers, I confronted him and he said they were taken out of context and I believed him. Then he didn’t turn up to my graduation ceremony and I caught him with his ex-girlfriend.”

Esme looked at her sadly, Bella looked surprised and Rosalie appeared to look angry on her behalf, something that surprised her.

“It turns out, he’d been cheating on me for seven months and he’d gotten his ex-girlfriend pregnant. But I’m glad it happened, I got the better end of the deal. He’s stuck with the woman that’s known as the biggest slut of the town where I come from, and he’s going to be forced to a raise a child with her. I feel sorry for the child having parents such as those two. I was living with him and his parents at the time and I moved out and into Ron’s older twin brothers’ for a short while. I had a crash course with the police academy so I could help to track down the fugitives that had fled out of Europe and I ended up here, where I met Seth, and I haven’t looked back since.” She tilted her head back to look up at him, he smiled down at her and kissed her forehead and she smiled at him lovingly.

“If I ever come into contact with him, I’m going to kill him,” he muttered.

“No, you won’t, you’d never forgive yourself.”

“It’d be worth it if it meant he’d leave you alone.”

“And what does that mean?” Rosalie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione sighed, pushing her hair back from her face, rubbing at her eyes tiredly and then refolding her arms around her legs. “Ron’s got it stuck in his twisted head that I should forgive him and once the baby’s born, we can be together again. He sends me letters every week, apologizing and begging for me to take him back but the following week he’ll be abusive, saying that I’ve changed due to the war, apparently, now I’m a dull, frigid, depressed, cold-hearted bitch and I’d be lucky to have him. The next letter he’ll send will be filled with apologies, and the cycle continues. His mother’s not much better, she sends letters, too, saying that she’s still planning the wedding and I need to get over my _disagreement_ with Ronald and return to England, where I’ll marry her son and give her a Grandchild before my first anniversary, oh, and I can’t forget that I’m not _allowed_ to have a career and I’m to be a housewife and cook and clean for my caring husband,” she snorted, seeing everyone in the room blinking in surprise.

“This is the woman that you lived with?”

“Hmm, she more or less, raised me, I spent more time with Ron’s family than I did my own, but that was because my parents didn’t and couldn’t understand the society I belonged to. They weren’t like me, and again, I can’t tell you why. All you need to know is that the things I’m capable of, my parents weren’t, which put me in the lower class.”

She then picked up her book and continued to read over the information it held, forgetting their presence and saying no more on the matter.

~000~000~000~

She closed the book and sighed.

“Anything?” Seth asked her.

“No, and I’ve read through every book that’s relevant.”

“Hermione, there must’ve been a hundred there,” he said in surprise.

“One hundred and fourteen, actually,” she corrected, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. “None of them contains any information that is relevant to the circumstances surrounding us; I need to update my library and resources.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“I need to make a trip to the Alley,” she confirmed. “Do you wish to come this time?”

“Yeah,” he said, barely holding in his excitement. “I watched over Jake whilst you were healing him the last time and you took the pups instead. Now, it’s my turn.”

She chuckled at him. “If we leave now we still have a few hours. I’ll have to head to the book shop, and we’ll have to see the twins whilst we’re there, they’ll never forgive me if I don’t visit them and they discover I’ve been in the Alley.”

“I can’t wait to see everything; the pups said it was amazing.”

“It is, it still amazes me, even after all these years I’m still not accustomed to it all.”

She rose to her feet and took Seth’s hand and they exited out of the house, leaving behind an amused Jacob and the confused Cullens.


	46. Chapter 46

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 6

**Sunday 10th September 2006**

“Oh My...”

“I know,” Hermione chuckled at Seth’s wide eyes and open mouth, as he stared around the Alley, the afternoon sun shining onto the windows, making the magical displays, pop. “Welcome to Diagon Alley,” she said.

She grabbed his hand and dragged him through the crowd of people, heading straight to the potions shop since she didn’t know when she’d next be able to stock up and she knew she would need supplies for the Nutrition Potions she was going to be preparing.

Seth grimaced at the smell of cabbage and rotten eggs but his eyes continued to peruse the shelves as Hermione pulled him through the aisles, selecting the ingredients she needed and some she might need at a later date. Once she was satisfied she had everything she needed, she headed to the counter.

“Miss. Granger, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Thank you, Frank, it’s nice to see you again, too,” she smiled.

“How have you been? Still enjoying your move to America?”

“I’ve been well, and yes, moving to America is the best decision I’ve made.”

“And would this young man be who I think he is?” He asked Hermione, his eyes taking in Seth as he stood beside her.

Hermione beamed in response. “Yes, Frank, this is my boyfriend, Seth. Seth, this is Frank, the best potions ingredients procurer in the world.”

Frank blushed and Seth smiled. “Miss. Granger, I am merely but an old man.”

“You’re not old, you’re wise,” Hermione reminded him and Seth chuckled.

“Well, Seth, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Granger has spoken of you fondly.”

Seth took the hand that was offered.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, too, she speaks of you often,” he replied.

“Ah, wonderful manners, kind eyes and quite the looker, too. Yes, you really have come out stronger than Mr. Weasley,” Frank said, Hermione smiled at him and looped her arm through Seth’s proudly.

“I know, and I’m thankful for his actions as I would never have met Seth if it weren’t for Ronald.”

“It all worked out in the end,” he mused.

“Yes, it did,” Hermione agreed.

Frank handed over the bags of potions ingredients and Hermione had it charged to her account whilst Seth took the bags from her despite her protests.

“I do hope to see the both of you again soon.”

“We’ll be back,” Hermione promised before they left the shop, hand in hand.

“He seemed nice,” Seth commented.

“I’ve known Frank since I was eleven, he was the first person to show me kindness when I was brought to Diagon Alley to get my school supplies for my first year.”

“How old is he?” He asked curiously.

“Nearing his one hundred and forty-sixth birthday, I believe.” Seth’s eyes widened. “Surprised?” She asked amused.

He nodded. “I remember you saying that you had decelerated ageing like me, but I didn’t think it was to _that_ extent.”

She shrugged. “Frank’s got another few decades in him, I’m sure of it. Right then, onto Flourish and Blotts.”

She led them over to the shop and stepped insides, and although it smelled like old parchment and ink, it wasn’t as harsh on Seth’s nose as the potions shop had been. Being distracted as he took in his surroundings, Seth had to jog to catch up to Hermione as she headed straight to the counter.

“Miss. Granger, it’s been a while.”

Hermione smiled at the middle-aged man behind the counter, his brown hair on the cusp of turning grey, his blue eyes surrounded by wrinkles and his skin pale.

“It has been, Henry, but I have a big order which will hopefully make up for my lack of visits.”

He chuckled at her. “What can I help you with?”

“I’m working on a very important and highly secret project, and it involves more research than my brain is able to handle.”

“Nonsense, the Brightest Witch can handle anything.”

She snorted, shaking her head. “I’m in need of some research material regarding magical creatures, legends, myths and folklore, and I would like a copy of every book you have that has any mention of what I’ve just listed.”

He looked intrigued. “Any particular creature?”

“If possible, it can be narrowed down to vampires, if not, then I may be able to use the other creatures as a comparison. And when I say every book, I mean _every_ book, including the more _risqué_ ones, too.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he denied with a laugh.

Hermione’s mouth twitched into a smirk and her head tilted. “You do realise that my brothers are Fred and George Weasley, as well as Bill and Charlie Weasley, yes? All of who, have purchased indecent books from you.” He shifted on his feet. “My brothers tell me everything, Henry, there’s no point in lying to me. Your secret is safe with me. I would like for what I’ve asked for, please. If you compile a list whilst the books are being collected, then I will be able to tell you which ones I already own. If there are any books that you don’t have in stock or you believe might be of some use to me, then I will pay extra to have them shipped to me in America. If they are illegal or dark and dangerous, I don’t care, I require as much information as possible for this project.”

“That will not be cheap,” he warned.

“I’m well aware, and I can more than pay you for your services, as well as a finder’s fee, too, as a little thank you for aiding me in my search for knowledge.”

Hermione sat a heavy pouch of galleons on the counter and his eyes darted about before he snatched it off the surface and he disappeared into the back room behind the counter.

“What just happened?” Seth asked confused, as she turned to face him and leaned back against the counter.

“Do you want me to lie to you?” She tipped her head.

“Did you just _bribe_ someone to acquire illegal reading materials to help with your research?”

“If I answer that, then you’re an accessory and a witness to a crime.”

“You scare me sometimes,” he admitted.

“As long as it’s only sometimes,” she shrugged.

They spent an hour in the shop with Hermione going through the list of two hundred legal books, and almost one hundred illegal books, and after reading through them, she was able to cross off seventy of those titles from the list as she’d already read them.

It took twenty minutes to collect the books and ring up the sales, and ten minutes to sort out a forwarding address for the books that had been ordered and would be delivered by the end of next week.

“Lovely doing business with you, Henry,” Hermione chirped before leaving the shop with the bags resized and in her pocket.

“We’ll make a quick visit with Fred and George, then we’ll head to Hogsmeade and get some more wizarding candy and we’ll have dinner at the Three Broomsticks. I know Rosie really wants to meet you and I promised I would introduce you to her.”

“Been telling people about me?” He asked amusedly and smiling down at her.

“Of course I have, you’re my boyfriend, I’m proud of you and I love you,” she smiled. She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him chastely before pulling him towards Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.

Neither of them noticed the camera flash.

~000~000~000~

“Hermione.”

“Hello, Rosie,” Hermione smiled in greeting, leaning over the bar to hug her. “Here I am, visiting as promised.”

“Well, I’m glad, it’s the not the same around here without you. And who do we have here?” She turned her attention to Seth, her eyes taking him in as she smiled at him.

“This is Seth, my boyfriend.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Seth, I’m Rosemerta, the owner of this place, but you can call me Rosie.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Hermione speaks fondly of this place,” he replied with a smile.

Rosie turned to Hermione with a smile. “You were right, very handsome and his eyes are ridiculously gorgeous.”

Hermione laughed as Seth appeared surprised.

“I know, they get me every time,” she sighed. 

“So, are you going to tell me why he isn’t a wizard but not quite a muggle either?” Rosie asked.

“He’s a shape-shifter, a giant, _giant_ wolf,” Hermione shrugged and Seth’s eyes darted about his surroundings, not being used to having his capabilities discussed so openly in public.

“Mr. Weasley is a thing of the past,” she chuckled. “So, what can I get you both?”

“Two butterbeers please, as well as two to go for when we leave.”

“Coming right up, food?”

“Please, Seth’s probably been starving for the last two hours, but he’s too polite to tell me to stop talking and feed him,” said Hermione. Seth shrugged in response and shifted his hands into his pockets and Rosie chuckled.

“What would you like?”

Hermione looked at Seth and he shrugged.

“Anything with meat and a lot of it.”

“We have a lamb roast dinner with all the extras,” Rosie offered.

“Perfect, we’ll take two, and two to go as well, please. We’ve got Seth’s sister and our friend waiting for us back home.”

“I’ll make sure it’ll stay hot until you arrive back.”

“Thanks, Rosie,” Hermione grinned, leaving the payment on the counter and taking the two butterbeers before heading to a booth.

“I get the feeling she didn’t like your ex-boyfriend,” Seth commented.

“No, she doesn’t, she doesn’t like Lavender either, she refuses to serve them when they come here, even though I said I wouldn’t take offence if she did but she won’t hear it.”

“I like her,” he nodded and she chuckled.

“Wait until you taste the food, then you’ll love her.”

~000~000~000~

After arriving back at the Cullens, Hermione and Seth dropped off their things before Seth went in search of his sister to take over patrols and inform her of there being food waiting for her, and Hermione walked into the Cullens living room to do the same for Jacob.

“Did you get everything you needed?” He asked in lieu of a greeting.

“Not exactly, I was able to walk away with one hundred and ninety-five titles,” she replied and noises of surprise filled the room whilst Jacob just chuckled and shook his head, being well aware of her bookworm tendencies after spending so much time around and with her. “The other thirty-five are being ordered and shipped over and should be here by the end of next week.”

“How are you able to find some many resources pertaining to our kind?” Carlisle asked in wonder.

“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you,” she said seriously. They blinked slowly and Jacob snorted. “Right, Jacob, dinner’s waiting for you.”

“You didn’t make it, did you?” He asked, eyeing her warily.

She scowled at him. “Get out before I slap you.”

He held his hands up in surrender but he had an amused smile on his face as he left the house.

“Cheeky sod,” she muttered, sitting down on the floor and opening up her new book to begin reading through the marked extracts. She narrowed her eyes when she heard the chuckles of the Cullens before she turned her attention back to the words in front of her.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 7

**Thursday 14th September 2006**

“Bloody hell!”

“Why the language?”

Hermione looked up and glared at Jacob, hearing the snorts of Emmet, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper, who were in the room. The others had gone hunting for the night and Bella was asleep in her bedroom, leaving the four vampires, Hermione and Jacob alone in the living room of the Cullen’s house, since Seth had taken the car to go grocery shopping and Leah was patrolling the boundary lines.

She snapped the book shut before putting it on the ground, running her hands through her hair and leaning her head forward to rest on her bent knees, as she sat on the floor with her back pressed against the armchair, a position she could always be found in. Even if there were plenty of seats available, she always sat on the floor.

“It’s useless, it’s all useless,” she muttered.

“You can’t have read all of the books you got already, it’s only been a few days and you’ve got more coming,” he replied.

“No, I haven’t read them all yet, but I’ve cross-referenced the information the books contain, and without reading them I know they all but say the same thing only it’s worded differently. I’ve still got the other texts coming and judging by the rarity and illegality of them, I’m hopeful they contain the information I need, or at least _something_ more than I’ve been reading.”

“So, what’re you gonna do?” He asked, sitting up in his seat and leaning forward, his elbows propped on his knees.

She lifted her head to look at him, ignoring the curious gazes of the four vampires.

“We need help.”

Jacob raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

“Someone who’s an expert in this field,” she replied.

He frowned in thought. “Your brother, Charlie?” He guessed.

“Charlie,” she agreed. She could sense the questions being directed at her before they were asked, and she turned to look at the four vampires. “My brother, Charlie, he knows more about vampires than I do.”

“The one that works on a reserve for endangered animals?” Jasper checked, recalling the information he’d overheard at the wedding.

Hermione raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on his knowledge. “Yes, him. He sent a letter a few days ago, he said he wanted to visit anyway, so he’d be happy to receive word that I need his help, particularly on a matter such as this.”

“Would he be happy to see you or Leah?” Jacob asked amused.

Hermione chuckled. “I’d like to think it was me but he misses Leah,” she shrugged.

“Who would’ve thought your brother and Seth’s sister?”

“Hmmm, as I’ve said before, it’s a good job we’re not biologically related, otherwise, it’d just be weird,” her face scrunched up and he snorted at her. “Right, I better write a letter to send off to Charlie and hopefully he can get here within a few days.”

She rose to her feet and left the house, making sure to take her book with her so the vampires couldn’t sneak a look at the information it contained. When she entered the tent, she quickly wrote a letter to Charlie, explaining the situation and asking for help and then she attached the letter to Shadow and sent her off immediately, wanting Charlie to receive the letter as quickly as possible.

She then left her tent, slowly making her way through the woods that surrounded the Cullen’s property, enjoying the silence and the autumn breeze of the evening. Before she reached the house, she heard a familiar hoot and she looked up with a smile on her face.

“Crystal,” she called lightly and the owl swooped down to land on her shoulder. “So, what have the twins sent this time?” She asked as she reached up to pet the owl before removing the package and letter attached to her leg.

“There’s food and water in the usual place,” she said to the owl, and after an affectionate peck to Hermione’s cheek, the owl flew off in the direction of the tent.

Hermione opened the letter and read it as she made her way back to the Cullen’s house, being mindful to also watch where she was going as she almost tripped over a fallen tree branch and face planted the floor.

_Mia,_

_We’ve got a problem. We wrote this letter as soon as we saw the article. Ron’s on a warpath, we’re just thankful you’ve taken measures to cloak yourself from him but you may want to up your security. We hope this letter gets to you before Ron tries to track your location, we’re all running interference as best we can. Even Percy!_

_Fred & George._

Hermione frowned in confusion before slipping the letter into her jean pocket and she resized the package Crystal had brought her. When she opened it, she saw it to contain the usual supplies they always sent her but there was something else, the _Daily Prophet_ newspaper. Hermione reached in and took it out before banishing the contents of the box back to the tent.

_Hermione Granger, Moved on?_

_It seems the Golden Girl has returned after her disappearance after the discovery that she and her now ex-boyfriend, Ronald Weasley, broke up. It is unknown where Hermione Granger went after her disappearance and her friends and family have been tight-lipped regarding the matter._

_Miss. Granger made a reappearance after almost six months of leaving England and falling off the radar, and she appears to have moved on with another. She was spotter with a mystery man in Diagon Alley and actions speak louder than words, and our eagle-eyed photographer was able to capture a moment shared between the two, where Miss. Granger and the mystery man share a smile and a steamy kiss, in this scene of PDA._

_Miss. Granger has since gone off the radar and not been seen since. How does Mr. Weasley feel about her new relationship? Will it affect his relationship with Lavender Brown, who are currently expecting their first child together?_

_Just who is this secret lover? How long have they been together? Is this the reason for her and Ron Weasley’s surprising and abrupt relationship break up? Stay tuned, as we at the Daily Prophet investigates the new beau in her life and her doings since her disappearance._

“Fuck!” She cursed as she stared at the article in her hand, and it was dated for a few days ago, the day she’d taken Seth to Diagon Alley. Her eyes fluttered down to the photo shown and it was her and Seth smiling at each other before she kissed him.

“Shit!”

Was Ron looking for her? She’d have to double up her security, she’d lowered it since the rest of the Death Eaters had been caught, not needing such an advanced level of protection, since she was now only hiding from Ron, who hadn’t been looking for her at that point. But now he was.

She looked up, seeing that she’d reach the house and she quickly climbed the stairs and entered the house.

“What’s the matter?” Jacob asked, seeing the way her face had paled and she had an anxious look on her face.

In response, she sat down next to him and handed him the letter as she stared at the wall with unfocused eyes.

“Shit!” He said, turning his wide eyes to her.

She then handed him the _Daily Prophet_ , no longer caring if the vampires in the room caught a glimpse of the moving photos as they stared between the two of them with frowns.

“Shit!” He cursed again, looking at her worriedly. “Are you alright?”

She blinked slowly and when she felt his hand settle on her shoulder, she turned to look at him. “He’s probably already looking for me. The twins sent that the day I took Seth to the Alley, it’s the evening edition meaning they rushed it out, and of course, they would, they couldn’t wait to release this information to the public,” she scoffed. “It means Ron’s had a few days for his anger to build, Mrs. Weasley’s going to be worse; she’s probably cursing my name to hell and back. They’re all running interference, trying to keep Ron away but I need to double up security.”

“He’s that good a Tracker?” Jacob asked worriedly.

“No, he’s rubbish,” she shook her head. “But when he joined the training programme, he underwent training on how to track others, he’s not a natural like some people, but it wouldn’t be difficult for him to find me now, especially since I’ve removed the advanced security around me. I didn’t need it anymore after we caught the rest of the war criminals, the only person I’m hiding from is Ron. I never thought he’d find out about Seth, and that if he did, it’d be years later,” she sighed. “It’s my own fault, I should’ve been more careful.”

“You shouldn’t have to be,” he scowled in anger, glaring down at the newspaper article in his hand. “It’s not fair that you have to hide from him, that he has such an effect on your life and the decisions you make.”

“It doesn’t matter now, I need to up security, he’s had a few days to track me and I can’t risk giving him any more time to find me, he may already have. I can’t risk him meeting Seth.”

“He wouldn’t hurt him,” Jacob protested, but it sounded as though he was trying to convince himself of that and not her.

“I can’t risk that. It’s going to take hours so I better get a start on it.”

She stood and took the letter and newspaper from him, folding them in a way the vampires wouldn’t be able to see the contents or the magical photographs since they hadn’t already.

“What’s happening?”

Hermione turned her eyes to the beautiful, blonde vampire.

“Ron knows about Seth, my brothers have warned me that he’s not happy and he’s looking for me. I need to improve the security surrounding me to prevent that. The only problem being, he’s known for days and he may have already found me, the twins wrote to me as soon as the article was released but I only received the letter a few minutes ago.”

“Article?” She arched an eyebrow.

“Yes, I told you, I’m a War Heroine that gets a lot of media attention, even when I don’t want it. And now, I don’t have a lot of time so I better get on with it.”

She turned and left the house and she turned to look behind her, making sure she hadn’t been followed before she pulled her wand and banished the letter and newspaper and then she disappeared into the woods. For fifteen minutes she cast the most complex security wards she knew but it was all for nothing, as she suddenly heard a sharp ‘crack.’ She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and with her wand still partially raised, she turned around.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”

Hermione slowly peeled opened her eyes, coming face to face with her ex-boyfriend. If the tone of his voice didn’t show that he was furious, the reddening of his face and the sneer on his face certainly did.

“Hello, Ronald,” she said calmly. “What are you doing here?”

His face twisted in anger. “What the fuck are _you_ doing? Running off and cheating on me with another fucking guy.”

Her hackles rose and her calmness was replaced with fury.

“I’m not cheating on you. We broke up when I discovered you’d been cheating on me with half of Wizarding Britain and that you’d gotten the Queen of Sluts pregnant,” she hissed.

“It’s not my fault you’re a cold-hearted frigid bitch,” he argued.

“My boyfriend doesn’t think so,” she replied, her eyes narrowed into slits.

She’d barely ducked the Stinging Hex he sent at her due to the shock that he’d actually tried to hex her. She hadn’t expected it, he may have been verbally and emotionally abusive but he’d never raised his wand to her.

“Ronald, stop it before you make things worse for yourself,” she commanded. “You could lose your Auror badge and end up in Azkaban.”

He ignored her warnings and threw a Stunner at her, followed by a Slicing Hex which caught her shoulder.

“Ronald!” She shouted, hoping to get his attention but he was too far gone in his anger, and upon seeing that fact, she turned and ran through the woods, dodging the spells and hexes that were thrown at her but she didn’t reciprocate, not wanting to hurt him.

She came out in front of the house, seeing the four vampires and Jacob appearing, obviously hearing the commotion, and they were all staring between her and Ron. Jacob looked pissed and upon seeing the blood on her t-shirt, he started shaking and his hands clenched into fists.

“Jacob don’t!” She warned. “He’s not worth it!”

Ron laughed cruelly, his wand gripped in his hand. “Oh, I see, there’s more than one you’re fucking! I guess my mother was right about you, you _are_ the Golden Slut!”

Two feminine gasps filled her ears, as did two low snarls and a rumbled growl.

“Ron, just stop! It’s not my fault you destroyed our friendship. I’m glad I broke up with you, I’ve found someone that treats me exceptionally better than you ever did, even before we started dating which was the biggest mistake of my life. I never should’ve given in to the pressure, I never should’ve given in to your mother or the wishes of others but I’ve learned from my mistakes.”

His sneer seemed to be glued to his face.

“So, this is the ex,” a voice spoke up coldly.

Hermione turned her eyes slightly to the right, seeing Rosalie to be the one to have spoken, and much to her surprise, she looked less than impressed with Ron. In fact, she looked murderous, as though she wanted to tear him from limb to limb herself.

“I must say, he doesn’t appear to be much, whatever attracted you to him? A girl as pretty as you can do so much better.”

Hermione blinked in surprise before she saw the orange beam from the corner of her eye and it was heading straight for Rosalie.

“ _Protego Totalum_!” Hermione called, conjuring the shield that not only protected Rosalie but the others, too, and the beam ricocheted into the woods, the damage done unseen.

“Oh My God! A witch! She’s a fucking witch!” She briefly heard Emmet say in an awed tone.

“It all makes sense,” Jasper muttered.

She turned her eyes for all but a second to see the four vampires staring at her in various stages of shock, awe, fright and understanding.

“Fuck!” She hissed, bringing her hand up to cradle her side as in her distraction, Ron had thrown another Slicing Hex her way and she’d failed to block it, but she didn’t make that mistake again.

Forgetting her wishes of not wanting to hurt him, she jumped headfirst into the duel, barely aware of the five figures stood close by and watching her closely, one of them, still having trouble controlling his anger and on the verge of phasing.

A rustle of leaves drew her attention and her eyes flickered over Ron’s shoulder, seeing Leah skidding to a stop in her wolf form, her dark eyes were wide and surprised but also fearful. But why?

She got her answer.

A loud howl echoed through the night, paws thudded against the ground before the large wolf, _her_ wolf, stepped out of the cover of the trees and into the moonlight shining from above. His eyes were dark and furious, his back was arched with his sandy-coloured fur sticking up like a furious cat, his head was bowed slightly with his sharp teeth bared, a loud and terrifying snarl ripping from the back of the wolf’s throat.

The last of Ron’s spell work rebounded off her shield and upon feeling the change in the atmosphere and hearing the snarls from behind him, Ron slowly turned around.

He gave a strangled cry before he stumbled back, his wand arm shaking as he trained his wand on her wolf.

“ _Stupefy_ ,” Ron’s voice shook. The spell missed completely and hit a tree.

A snarl like she had never before heard left the wolf before he sprung off his paws, through the air and straight for Ron’s throat.

“SETH! NO!”


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 11

**Thursday 14th September 2006**

Hermione watched in shocked horror as Seth collided with Ron, sending him sprawling to the ground with a cry of pain. The wolf stood over the flailing, screaming wizard with his paws pressed into his chest holding him down and he snarled in his face viciously. Hermione had never seen Seth so angry, so violent.

Everyone stood in surprise at what they were witnessing, Jacob had stopped shaking, his own anger being taken over by shock due to Seth’s actions.

“Seth,” Hermione said but he ignored her. “SETH!” she called, yet the wolf didn’t acknowledge her, being too far gone in his anger and protectiveness of her.

She brought her hand up and gripped her necklace.

 _‘Seth,’_ she thought. _‘Look at me.’_

The snarling slowly trailed off and the wolf turned his eyes to her but there was still no chance of Ron escaping despite his attention being elsewhere. He was too strong and too heavy.

 _‘Seth, please, stop,’_ she pleaded.

 _‘He hurt you, he attacked you!’_ his voice sounded angry, his words rumbled through a growl, but she knew his anger wasn’t aimed at her so she didn’t take it personally.

_‘I know he did, but you can’t do this.’_

_‘He attacked you!’_ He snapped.

 _‘Seth, please don’t do this. He’s going to get his punishment for what he did. He’s an Auror and he attacked not only a civilian but a civilian that resides on a separate continent. This is going to have a massive impact on the global wizarding relations and that won’t be taken lightly. He broke the laws of the British Ministry_ and _the American Ministry, he’s not going to get off lightly. He’ll lose his job, he’ll lose his Order of Merlin; First Class, he may even face time in Azkaban, and that’s a punishment no one wants to face. Please, Seth, don’t hurt him, I can’t protect you if you do. You’re a shape-shifter, that makes you a citizen of the Wizarding World, whether they know of your existence or not, or you reside there or not. If you hurt him, you’ll be charged and tried as a wizarding citizen; you’re susceptible to our laws, our judgements and our punishments. I can’t protect you from that.’_

Four sharp cracks were heard from the cover of the trees and all eyes turned to them, even as Ron’s screams died down to pathetic whimpers as he was still crushed beneath the large wolf.

Hermione’s stomach fluttered in relief when she saw it to be the twins, Harry and Ginny. None of them appeared to be pleased with Ron being there. They took one look at the whimpering Ron, the furious wolf and Hermione’s rumpled and bleeding state and easily put the pieces together.

Looks of shock, anger and betrayal crossed their faces, and Ginny, in particular, looked murderous, her wand gripped in her hand tightly, whilst Harry looked furious but he had his hands on Ginny’s shoulders, as if to ground her and prevent her from killing Ron.

“Seth, Mate, don’t do this,” Fred said calmly, holding his hands up to show he wasn’t armed and approaching them carefully, his eyes flickering between him and Ron before landing on him solely.

The wolf let out a growl yet Fred didn’t flinch, they were technically family, after all. It was strange to think of it that way but when Hermione met Seth, she had brought him into the family, and with Seth came Leah, who was dating Charlie, and with Seth and Leah, came Jacob, Paul, Sam, Embry, Jared, Quil, Collin and Brady, making them family, too. There was no denying they were one dysfunctional, unusual bunch.

“He’s right,” George spoke, coming up next to his twin. “He more than deserves it, and believe me, he won’t be getting away with what he’s done to our Hermione. If you hurt him, the Aurors will get involved and despite our connection with Kingsley and the Ministry, we won’t be able to keep you out of this. Trust us; you don’t ever want the displeasure of a visit to Azkaban. You have your entire life ahead of you, how are you going to take care of our Hermione if you’re in wizarding prison?”

Hermione didn’t bother protesting that she could look after herself; they all knew she could, but their words were designed to get Seth to back down. If he was reminded that Hermione would be without him should anything happen, he would hopefully snap out of his anger long enough to gain control of himself.

The wolf snarled in protest to his words, as if he wasn’t protecting Hermione right now.

“You did promise us to always look after her, and you didn’t just make that promise to us but to Harry, Bill, Charlie, Fleur, Ginny and the motley crew we call our friends, you don’t want to piss them off by doing something stupid, now do you? You’ve protected her, you’ve kept her safe, you’ve kept him away from her, but now we’re here and you need to let us take care of it. He may be our little brother but his words and actions since the end of the war have been appalling, and we will make sure he is dealt with accordingly and within the laws of our world,” Fred said.

“Look at her,” George picked up, nodding to Hermione and the large wolf turned his eyes to her. “She needs you more than you realise, she loves you, and with you incarcerated, where’s that going to leave her? You’re a smart kid, don’t make a stupid mistake.”

The wolf turned his head back to Ron, and he lowered his head, bared his teeth and snarled furiously. Ron let out a strangled noise of fear as he helplessly tried to free himself from the paws of the large wolf.

Hermione held her breath, as did everyone else, but the large wolf slowly and reluctantly stepped back from Ron and made his way over to Hermione. He halted before her, laying down onto his stomach and Hermione kneeled down before him, taking his large head in her small hands and their eyes locked.

“Thank you,” she said softly. “Thank you for not hurting him. I can’t lose you, especially because of him. I love you too much to lose you.” The large wolf let out a whining sound and she leaned forward to place a kiss to the tip of his nose before she wrapped her arms around the wolf’s neck and hugged him tightly, her cheek pressed against his soft fur. She pulled back when she felt him nuzzling at her side where the blood has soaked through her t-shirt. “I’m fine, it’s just a Slicing Hex, with a bit of Dittany it’ll be healed in a few hours,” she assured him.

She turned her eyes to her brothers and sister, seeing that the twins were both restraining Ron, whilst Harry was restraining Ginny, who appeared to be under a Silencing Charm, as she was yelling and screaming, yet no sound was heard.

“Ron, stop it!” Fred demanded, his usual joyful and teasing tone gone, now replaced with cold anger and disappointment.

Ron continued to struggle so the twins tightened their grip on him before they forced him to the ground on his knees.

“You’ve always had a bad temper, but never in a million years did we ever think you could harm an innocent, a _friend_ , someone that’s saved your stupid arse countless times. You owe Hermione your life and this is how you repay her?” George sounded disgusted, betrayed.

“We are so disappointed in you. You’re just lucky it’s us that got here first, if it had been Bill or Charlie, you’d be lucky if you survived. They never would’ve bothered to try to dissuade Seth from killing you. Hell, Bill’s wolf side would’ve encouraged it,” finished Fred.

“She deserved it! She cheated on me!” Ron sneered.

Fred snorted. “I think you’ll find you cheated on her, _several_ times, as evidenced by the _Daily_ _Prophet_. Not only did you disrespect Hermione, you humiliated her in front of Wizarding Britain. She had to leave to get away from all the hurt and trouble you caused, and it’s just as well; she found herself someone that treats her exactly the way she deserves, better even.”

“You’re choosing her over me!”

“Yes,” the twins said together without hesitation or remorse.

“I’m your brother!”

“And she’s our sister, what you did was wrong and you deserve whatever punishment is seen fit,” George said.

“HOW DARE YOU!”

Everyone winced as the Silencing Charm on Ginny finally wore off and she continued to struggle against Harry’s hold.

“How dare you raise your wand to her?! Forget Bill and Charlie, I’m going to kill you myself, you bloody weasel!”

Hermione heard several snorts from behind her, being reminded of their vampire observers. She turned her eyes to them, seeing all four vampires and Jacob looking amused by Ginny’s outburst, but Emmet appeared to be on the verge of releasing that booming laughter that made the ground shake.

“Harry, let go of me so I can kill the bastard!” Ginny demanded.

“Sorry, Love, don’t want you in Azkaban, too, you’re starting your position with the Holyhead Harpies soon, we can’t jeopardise that.”

“Harry, it’s only murder if there’s a body to be found! Now let me go!”

She struggled harder and Hermione blinked in surprise when she wriggled free and the green beam of light slammed into Ron’s chest before anyone could think to block it.

Ron started screaming as he became victim to Ginny’s famously terrifying Bat Bogey Hex. The twins were quick to release their hold on Ron and step out of the way, watching their sister’s wand work in pride. Hermione couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her and she felt her wolf nuzzle at her neck.

“I’m fine, honestly, now, why don’t you change back?” The wolf looked reluctant to do so with Ron still in her presence. “Do you really think he’s going to have the chance to hurt me? How’s he going to do that when he’s curled up in a ball on the ground and crying like a baby?” She said, her eyes flickering over to Ron, seeing him doing just that.

The large wolf stood and disappeared into the trees but not before he sent another snarl in Ron’s direction.

“Ginny, I think you’ve made your point,” Hermione said, rising to full height.

Ginny laughed cruelly. “Oh, Hermione, I’ve only just started. Brother or not, he’s a fucking arsehole for what he did to you, and I’m going to make sure he learns that there are consequences for his actions.” With that, she cast yet _another_ Bat Bogey Hex, doubling the assault on Ron and his cries and screams grew louder.

“Ginny, you don’t have to this for me.”

“Don’t be daft, you’re my sister, blood or not. You’re the only person that’s had my back, as well as Harry’s and Ron’s. Your loyalty has never faltered. You’ve always been kind to me and you helped me even when I was too stubborn to ask for it, or when I wouldn’t admit that I needed help. You spent weeks helping me learn the sixth year _and_ seventh year syllabus. You stayed up with me three nights in a row for weeks at a time to help me study for my NEWTs. You were there for me when I needed someone to talk to. Growing up in a house with six brothers, I never had that until I met you. You are my sister, and just like you had my back, I’ve got yours, especially when our arsehole brothers are involved.”

“Hey, don’t lump us all in with that dunderhead!” Fred protested, gesturing the crying mess on the ground.

“Yeah, we’re nothing like him, he’s just been dropped on his head one too many times as a baby, we’re sure of it,” George agreed.

Ginny rolled her eyes.

“And I thank you for that Ginny, and you’ll always be my sister, no matter if I reside in England, or if I’m here with Seth. But you should really cancel the hexes now,” Hermione said softly.

“Fine,” Ginny pouted before lifting her wand and slashing it through the air, Ron’s cries were now of relief as he was no longer under attack by flying snot bats.

When a rustle from the trees caught their attention, they all turned to see Seth stepping out of them, wearing only jean shorts and a pair of trainers.

“Hey, thanks for not killing him, Mate,” George spoke in greeting. “And has anyone ever told you you’re terrifying?” He added.

“Leah’s worse,” he shrugged, going straight over to Hermione and curling himself around her tightly. “Besides, if I killed him, I’d never have gotten to see what you just did to him, nicely done, Little Red,” Seth commented, using the nickname the pack had dubbed Ginny during the beach party all those months ago.

Ginny smirked. “Oh, believe me, Dumbo,” Ginny replied, using the nickname Seth had been given during the beach party, in reference to his over-sensitive hearing. “There’s plenty more where that came from.”

They turned their eyes downcast when they heard a raspy laugh coming from Ron, as he shakily pushed himself to his feet. His cold eyes swept over Seth, seeming to take in his appearance.

“He’ll get bored of you, just like I did. Soon, he’ll see the cold-hearted bitch you are and he’ll leave and find someone better.”

Seth’s kind features twisted in anger and Hermione was slightly worried he’d phase again but although his body had tensed and his hold on her tightened, he didn’t appear to have any of the symptoms of phasing.

“That goes to show more about your character than it does mine,” Seth replied angrily. “Just because you were too stupid to see what you had in front of you, doesn’t mean I am. I know exactly who Hermione is, and I could never harm her, especially for any decision she makes in her life. She’s kind and thoughtful, she’s smart and witty, she’s strong and she’s beautiful.”

Ron let out another raspy laugh.

“Beautiful? Clearly, you haven’t seen her scars, but then again, she’s a frigid bitch, I doubt she’d even show you a bit of leg.”

“She’s not a frigid bitch,” Jacob spoke up from behind her with a frown. When she turned to look at him, he had a grimace on his face and he shifted on his feet, obviously remembering some of Seth’s memories that had flashed through their shared mind link. “I wish she was so I don’t have to be scarred for life.”

Harry and Ginny snorted whilst the twins looked torn between amusement and glaring at Seth.

“I’ve seen all her scars, which make her all the more beautiful.”

Hermione looked at the ground and shifted on her feet nervously. Ron seemed to notice as a smirk pulled at his mouth.

“All her scars? Really?”

“Yes,” Seth replied with narrowed eyes.

“Even the one on her arm?” He questioned. You could hear a pin drop, as the twins, Harry and Ginny all flinched at being reminded of the scar that lived there.

Seth looked down at Hermione uncertainly but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Hermione?”

She refused to look at him.

He stepped away from her before taking both of her wrists in his hands, and before she could stop him, he had pulled both sleeves up to reveal her forearms. His eyes swept the right arm first and seeing nothing before they fell to the left arm and immediately they landed on the angry red scar that read ‘Mudblood’ in jagged lettering.

She’d been branded!

“Mudblood,” he whispered, running his fingers over the lettering and hearing Jacob’s noise of anger and disgust, as he knew the meaning behind the slur.

Seth could feel the anger swarming him and this time he couldn’t stop it. He pulled away from Hermione before turning and storming over to the laughing Ron, and before anyone could blink, Seth’s fist collided with Ron’s jaw. Ron stumbled backwards before falling to the ground, sprawled out and unconscious.

As gasps and noises of surprise rang out –and clapping from Ginny- Seth phased right in front of everyone, and the large wolf ran off into the trees.

Hermione’s tears fell down her face until she felt the presence of a second wolf beside her. She turned her eyes, catching Leah’s gaze once she tore her eyes away from the scarring. Leah nudged Hermione’s shoulder in support and with that encouragement from her soon to be sister-in-law –whether by Seth or Charlie, whichever came first- she pulled herself together.

“As much as I love seeing you all, I think you better get him back to England before Seth returns.”

“I’ll make sure charges are filed, I’m officially arresting him,” Harry spoke up.

Hermione shook her head. “I’m not filing charges.”

“Over my dead body are you not filing charges!” Harry fumed.

“I won’t shame the family.”

“Oh, Mia,” Fred shook his head. “You’re not the one shaming or disgracing the family, _he_ is. He verbally and emotionally abused you, he cheated on you, he got another woman pregnant, he all but harassed and stalked you for months, and then he attacked you unprovoked. He is the one at fault, not you.”

“It may disgrace our family name, it may not. But who cares? We’ve never cared before, we’ve always been considered the lowest on the wizarding chain since our family didn’t have much growing up,” George shrugged.

“Your mum...”

“We’ll handle her, she’s just as much responsible for this as Ron is, and to be honest, we’ve been avoiding her lately, even Percy hasn’t been speaking to her much as of late. Dad doesn’t agree with any of her behaviour, but she’s his wife and he knows it’s easier to just let her get on with things. She’ll get over it eventually.”

“Besides, her anger won’t be on you for long,” Ginny piped up, a smirk on her face.

“What do you mean?” Hermione frowned.

“I discovered something _interesting_ the other day when I walked in on Lavender in the bathroom.”

They all gave her annoyed looks when she stopped there.

“Spit it out, Gin,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“She’s not pregnant.”

“Excuse me?” The twins, Harry and Hermione all said together, their mouths partially open and their eyes wide.

“She’s not pregnant,” she repeated with a grin. “She faked it.”

“You can’t fake a pregnancy, not for that long, she was almost eight months along,” Hermione frowned. "How didn't Ron notice?"

“Ron's an idiot," she said simply, "And with the aid of a few nifty Illusion Charms you can, if anything when I saw her she looked anorexic. She lied about the entire pregnancy. I don’t know what her end goal was but it doesn’t matter anymore, when mum finds out it’s going to be Wizarding War Three.” Ginny looked far too pleased with the news.

“Well, now that the cat’s out of the bag, we better get Tosspot back to England before he comes around,” George spoke, shaking himself out of his shock.

“You’re pressing charges, no argument you have is going to change my mind. What he did was unjust, illegal and he doesn’t deserve your kindness or forgiveness,” Harry spoke. “At the very least he should lose his Auror badge, even if he doesn’t get prison time.”

“There’s no point in arguing, he’s as stubborn as you are,” Ginny pointed out. “And Ron deserves far more than just losing his Auror badge. Maybe we should take him to see Bill before we drop him off at the Ministry,” she mused.

Hermione sighed, giving up the argument before she headed over to them and hugged them all.

“You’re safe now, he won’t learn his lesson if he continues to get away with his actions,” Harry said as he pulled back from her.

Hermione stepped back as they prepared to port-key away, with what was no doubt an illegal port-key.

“And you better send a letter explaining why you’re surrounding yourself with vampires,” warned Fred.

“Yeah, given that we know how much the pack hates them, as well as your dislike for them. And where is the rest of the pack!? We were hoping to see the pups. We’ve got some new products we want to show them,” George said.

“Corrupting their innocent minds?” She said amusedly.

“Of course, that’s our job, to cause mayhem, induce laughter, and corrupt the minds of innocent pups,” Fred said, just as the port-key whisked them away.

Hermione sighed and with one final look at Leah, she disappeared into the trees, going off to find Seth. Hermione turned to face the four vampires that were staring at her, as Jacob walked over to her, placing his arm around her shoulders and hugging her against his side, silently asking if she was alright, and she nodded in reply.

“You’re a witch!” Emmet finally exploded, looking to be on the verge of jumping up and down.

Hermione watched him tiredly, the exhausting events of the night beginning to take its toll on her.

“Yes, I am.”

“Well shit! That’s awesome. I’ve never actually met a witch, heard about your kind before, of course, but never met one.”

“Hermione Granger,” Jasper muttered, his eyes trailing over her frame as if seeing her in a new light, and his golden orbs landed on her Mudblood scar.

“The war you spoke of, you were referring to the Wizarding Wars, and a man named Voldemort?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“You fought him?”

“From the age of twelve until the war became official when I was sixteen, and it took another two years to finally destroy the psychotic bastard.”

“Your friend, he is Harry Potter, _the_ Harry Potter? The boy that vanquished him?”

“Yes.”

“Then that would make you _the_ Hermione Granger.”

“It would.”

He frowned slightly. “Then I am glad that I did not challenge you, or get on your bad side.” Hermione raised an eyebrow. “You know of me, just as I know of you. I’ve heard tales of your battle skills and it is said that you’re feared by many.”

“I am.”

“Rightly so,” Jacob muttered, shivering slightly.

“You know of us because our kind exists in your world.”

“Yes, though not many vampires reside in Wizarding Britain. We learn about your kind from a young age, maybe thirteen, depending on the preferences of the schools it may be younger.”

“The remedies and books?”

“Magical potions to revert the pregnancy back a few weeks and Nutrition Potions to keep Bella healthy. My books are magical textbooks, which is why you don’t have access to them.”

“What happened when you were captured?” Alice asked her, her musical voice flittering through the quiet night.

“The Torture Curse was cast upon me repeatedly, which is why I suffer the effects I do, and I likely will for the remainder of my life. And I was threatened with rape, it would’ve happened if I hadn’t have been rescued.”

She heard a snarl rip from Rosalie’s throat.

“How is the pack unable to enter onto our land?” Jasper asked.

“Magical security barriers, I’ve placed them around the house. It will prevent them from being able to get into the house but they can still come onto the land. It’s too big to fully ward against them so I focused my magic on the house.”

“That light, you protected me against it, why?” Rosalie frowned.

“I’m not quite sure what damage it would’ve done to you, but the orange colouring of the spell usually means it has something to do with fire. Despite our differences, you defended me and you have given me no reason to mistrust you as of yet. And even if I did hate you, I could never let harm come to you because of my problems.”

Rosalie was watching her with a look in her eyes Hermione wasn’t sure she liked the look of.

“You realise now that we know of your identity, the others will discover your secret, too?” Jasper said.

Hermione frowned before she waved her wand and to their surprise, four identical necklaces appeared in front of her, floating in the air. Necklaces they knew the pack to wear.

“Take one,” she said, gesturing to them and the four vampires reached out to retrieve one each.

“I’m assuming they have a purpose.”

“Yes, I created them a while back, I’m still working out a few flaws and improving the already existing protection runes for the pack but they’re still fully functional. You wear these and it will protect your mind from outside influences.”

“You’re saying Edward would no longer be able to read our thoughts?” Jasper asked surprised.

She nodded. “Yes, but if you wish him to you can allow him access.”

“Not likely,” Emmet muttered, putting on the necklace without a second thought and he laughed when it resized to fit him perfectly.

“How do we know they work?” Rosalie asked sceptically, watching as Jasper and Alice both put their necklaces on.

“He hasn’t been able to read any of the packs’ minds, has he?” Jacob said knowingly, a smirk on his face.

“That was because of you?” Rosalie asked her.

“Yes. It took me months just to figure out the correct charms sequencing and protection rune patterns, before I could even attempt to spell the necklace, which took weeks to do, and they all had to be done separately.”

Rosalie blinked, not understanding a word of what Hermione had said but she did put the necklace over her neck.

“If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to go to bed, it’s been a long day,” she turned and headed for the trees and Jacob followed her.

“Wait a minute, the brother you wrote to, how can he help?” Jasper called.

She turned around to face him.

“He’s a Dragon Keeper.”

“Dragon Keeper?” Emmet asked, looking gleeful.

“Yes, a Dragon Keeper and he works on the Dragon Reserve in Romania. He’s an expert on all magical creatures. If anyone can figure this mess out, it’s him.”

~000~000~000~

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Hermione turned over in bed so she could face Seth who stood by the door looking as tired as she felt.

She shrugged, looking down at the mattress. “I didn’t want you to see it. I don’t like looking at it. It reminds me of what she did to me. She held me down and carved it into me so I would always remember my place in the world. That no matter what I did or what I achieved, I would always be unworthy. I can’t cover it with magic and it’s never going to properly heal as she used a cursed blade. I can only cover it with sleeves and make-up.”

She looked up when she heard him approaching the bed before he slipped in beside her, immediately pulling her into him and she went willingly.

“You are not unworthy. You are kind. You are smart. You are caring. You are loving. You are beautiful, scars and all. And I don’t love you any less than I did before, if anything, I love you more. If there is ever anything that’s going to scare me away, it’s going to be your bed hair.”

She grumbled and slapped at his chest and he laughed loudly as she silently fumed.

“But we both know I love those murderous, suffocating curls, too.” He placed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re stuck with me.”

“You make it sound like a bad thing.”

“In the long run, it might be.”

“I could never grow tired of loving you.”

“You say that now; just wait until you’re yelling at me for leaving dirty towels on the floor or for not putting the milk back in the cooling cupboard.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t yell at you.”

“No?”

“No, I’d hex you,” she said lightly.

He chuckled. “That’s my girl,” he muttered, placing a kiss to her forehead.


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 5

**Friday 15th September 2006**

“Seth! Jacob! Get your arses out of bed!” Hermione yelled from the kitchen, her attention on flipping the bacon over in the pan.

“I don’t want to!” Seth called back from the bedroom, his voice muffled by the pillow he’d pulled over his head.

“Get up! You’ve got to go to school!”

“I don’t want to!”

“I swear to Merlin and the Founders, you have five seconds to get out of bed or I’ll come in there and transfigure you into a Chihuahua!”

“That seems a bit drastic,” Jacob said amusedly as he entered the room, dressed and ready for school, Hermione was glad to see.

“It’s not, I could just as easily turn him into a flobberworm, he’d still have sharp teeth as a Chihuahua, that’s me being merciful.” He snorted at her. Hermione looked to the corridor, seeing that Seth wasn’t about to appear any time soon. “That’s it,” she huffed, putting a plate of food in front of Jacob as she walked past him.

He waited for a moment before the yells of profanities started. He snorted to himself and quietly picked up his fork, almost choking on his food when he heard a ‘crash’ coming from Hermione’s room, followed by a ‘thud.’ Jacob wouldn’t be surprised if Seth emerged with a few injuries.

~000~000~000~

“So, what’s it like being a witch?” Emmet asked her.

She looked up from her book, surprisingly being perched in the armchair.

“What do you mean?” She frowned in confusion.

“What’s it like being a witch?” He repeated with a shrug. 

She closed her book, using her finger to keep her place before shifting in her seat to get more comfortable.

“I don’t really know how to answer that,” she replied with a thoughtful frown. “It’s different, but not at the same time, if you know what I mean. I’m a Muggleborn, both my parents were muggles, and I’m the first generation magical user in my bloodline, but I won’t be last, any future children Seth and I may have, have a higher chance of being a magical practitioner than they do of being shape-shifters. I didn’t learn of the existence of magic and my being a witch until after my eleventh birthday when a professor of Hogwarts arrived with an acceptance letter. Until that point, I believed myself to be normal despite the strange occurrences that happened around me when I was younger.”

“Once I entered the Wizarding World for the first time, I knew my life would never be the same. Suddenly everything made sense, I always knew there was something different about me, I could do things other children couldn’t, and they didn’t like me. I was too smart, too strange. When I started Hogwarts, despite the war I was dragged into, despite the death, fighting, bullying and hatred, I’d never felt more at home in the Wizarding World, even when I was told I didn’t belong there and I didn’t deserve my magic.”

“I love being a witch, and despite the things that I’ve been forced to face, I wouldn’t change any of it. They helped to shape me into who I am. They changed my view of the world, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst. I can do things that are thought to be impossible. I’m capable of casting some truly beautiful forms of magic, and if I wished, some truly awful forms of magic. I love being a witch, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m grateful for my magic, and I’m grateful for the experiences I’ve been given and forced to face. I’m a witch, no matter my bloodline or lineage.”

~000~000~000~

“She’s in bed asleep, I checked on her five minutes ago,” Rosalie spoke.

Hermione lifted her gaze, searching around in confusion as she saw no one else but those she expected, but before she could look back down to her book, Edward, Carlisle and Esme walked into the room, returning from their hunting trip. Carlisle gave her a friendly nod, which she returned, Esme smiled, which she returned –much to their surprise- and Edward looked at her distrustfully and she returned the gesture.

Edward’s head suddenly snapped away from her and to his siblings, narrowing his eyes to pinpoints before they widened and he took a step back.

“What is it?” Esme asked softly.

Emmet had a shit-eating grin on his face. “You can’t read our thoughts, can you?”

Edward stared and Carlisle and Esme looked between him and their other children in surprise and confusion. Hermione remained still, her hand moving to her arm where her wand was hidden under her sleeve, feeling the comfort of it washing over her.

Edward spun around, his eyes narrowed hatefully at her.

“You! You’ve done something!” He snarled.

Before Hermione could blink, both Jasper and Rosalie were stood in front of her, crouched slightly in a stance of protection and defence whilst Edward had been slammed into the wall opposite them and Emmet held him in place.

“Let me go!” Edward tried to break free.

“Can’t do that, Eddie, I quite like her; she’s amusing and I don’t want you injuring my only source of entertainment around here,” he replied lightly. Edward snarled. “Not to mention, Rose would tear me limb from limb if I were to let you go and she gets hurt.”

Esme and Carlisle blinked in surprise, their eyes darting about wildly.

“She’s off-limits!” Rosalie warned.

“Since when are you on her side!?” Snapped Edward.

“Since we know who she is,” Jasper replied calmly. Too calmly, Hermione noted.

“Meaning?” Carlisle asked, taking a step forward and taking charge of the situation before things could get worse.

“Exactly that, we know _who_ she is. We know how she’s able to help Bella, she’s the only one that has access to the resources we need and we now know why. Yes, she’s responsible for Edward not being able to read our thoughts. She wants her identity kept a secret and she gifted us the ability to protect our minds from outside influences, just as she did the packs’.”

Carlisle frowned before realising that was all Jasper was going to say on the matter.

“Emmet, let Edward go, he won’t hurt her,” Carlisle instructed, sending a look of warning to Edward.

Emmet shrugged and stepped back, Edward pushed him away from him before glaring at Hermione and her protectors and then leaving the room, assumingly to check on Bella.

“Why did you do that?” Hermione frowned in confusion.

The four vampires looked at her whilst Carlisle and Esme still looked to be confused.

“You protected us, so we protected you, not that you need it,” Rosalie replied, moving to sit on the couch beside Emmet.

“And now we know who you are, I can’t imagine it ending well should Edward try to harm you,” Jasper said and the others nodded in agreement.

Hermione blinked in surprise. “Well, thank you,” she said quietly. “And Seth, Leah and Jacob don’t find out about this, agreed?”

“Agreed,” the four chorused.

~000~000~000~

Hermione was walking through the woods, taking a break from her research. She stepped over a large root before spinning on her heel with her wand out and pointed, after hearing a noise.

“You have quick reflexes, even by human standards,” Jasper commented, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest casually.

She released the breath she’d been holding, lowered her wand and relaxed her stance.

“War does that to a person,” she replied.

“Yes, it does,” he agreed. “Particularly to someone that was so young. You didn’t have a choice?”

“Some say I did, but I never. The war for me started when I was twelve, I was always on the front lines, standing beside Harry. He needed me and I couldn’t leave him. I was made a target for being associated with him, for being so smart, for being so well-known, for being a Muggleborn. I can’t help that I was born to muggles, yet I was treated like vermin for something that I had no control over. Even if I hadn’t of been friends with Harry, I still would’ve been a target due to my blood status.”

His golden eyes watched her carefully, seeing the exhaustion, the pain, the suffering, the knowledge of traumatic experiences.

“How are you coping?” He asked, surprising her.

“Do you care?”

“Yes, I was a soldier once.”

“Why are you asking, you can just as easily search my emotions?”

“You told me not to,” he shrugged. She blinked, not expecting that answer. “I’d much rather hear it from you, than having to go searching through your feelings for an answer. I want to see if you’ll lie to me, don’t forget, I can hear your heartbeat.”

She sighed before pocketing her wand and moving to sit on a felled tree, her elbows on her knees and dropping her head into her hands.

“It’s difficult. It’s been four hundred and seventy-two days since the end of the Final Battle, and every day is a struggle to not give in to the grief of those that were lost in the war, the good and the bad. The good sacrificed themselves so the world could be a better place, to help eradicate blood prejudice and destroy the wizarding version of Hitler. The bad, they may have been despicable, evil and filled with nothing but hatred and cruelness, but they were still wizarding folk and every life lost was someone with the gift of magic. There are already so few of us compared to muggles but the war seriously depleted the numbers of our population. Despite who they were and what they did, I took their lives.”

“I’ve killed people, it doesn’t matter that it was in self-defence, that it was them or me, that I had a choice to make regarding ending a life or protecting another’s, I still killed them. I have to live with that every day of my life. I used to suffer from insomnia, barely sleeping, and when I did I’d relive my memories of war. I couldn’t escape them. I was barely coping, but I hid it well. And then Ronald cheated on me, I moved here and I met Seth. It’s still hard, and I still think about the war but he makes everything better. I don’t have nightmares, I’m well-rested, I’ve put on weight and I have a reason to get up in the morning. I still suffer from MPTSD but since meeting Seth, the effects have lessened. It’s because of him that I’m finally able to sleep at night, that I find myself looking forward to each coming day. It’s because of him that I’m happy, happier than I’ve been in almost a decade. I’m safe, I’m cared for and I’m happy.”

She removed her head from her hands and looked up at him, getting caught in his gaze and seeing him watching her intensely.

“The memories still haunt me when I’m awake, they’ll creep in when I’m distracted and remind me of what I’ve done. I still have triggers that might recall a certain emotion, response or reflex. It could be a word, a smell or a sound and what I might or will do is what scares me the most. Once, Jared and Paul were messing around and they broke my coffee table, the sound it made reminded me of something that happened at the Final Battle. If it hadn’t been for Seth being close enough to stop me, I would’ve seriously injured one of them. I couldn’t help myself, I didn’t know what I was doing; it was just a reflex reaction to a flashback.”

She sighed, running her hands through her hair and tugging on the strands slightly.

“Does it ever go away?” She asked quietly.

“I’m not going to lie to you, it’ll never go away. You’ll have the memories and the reflex reactions, but it’ll get easier. You’ll learn to push the bad memories aside and replace them with memories that are healthier for you. You’ll look at the bad but you’ll see the good, you’ll see the silver lining. It’s good that you have Seth, just as I have Alice. She helps to calm me, she helps to relieve the pain of my past. It’s doesn’t go away, but it does get easier. I promise.”


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 9

**Saturday 16th September 2006**

“What is it?” Seth grumbled tiredly, pulling Hermione more closely to him in his half-asleep state.

“I have to go,” she said, pulling away from him and sitting up in bed.

“It’s...” Seth looked to the clock, “Three in the morning, where do you have to go?”

“Paul wants to meet, it’s the first time he’s contacted me since the night he...”

“If he touches you, I’ll kill him,” he muttered.

“No, you won’t,” she replied. “I’ll be back soon.”

She leaned over and kissed his cheek before climbing out of bed. She dressed in the first items of clothing she found, slipped on her shoes and made her way out of the tent, being mindful not to wake Jacob who was sleeping in the spare room whilst Leah was patrolling the borderlines of the magical wards.

Once she was a little ways away from the tent, she spun on her heel and apparated to the meeting place.

~000~000~000~

She saw him stood in the distance, looking down at the ground, his hands shoved in his pockets and scuffing a foot against the rough ground of the woods.

She took a deep breath and approached him slowly, reminding herself to remain in control of her emotions should anything occur like it had the last time she’d seen him. _Had it really only been a week?_ It felt like much longer. She couldn’t wait for the mess with the pregnancy to be sorted out and everything would hopefully go back to normal.

“Paul, it’s good to see you,” she said with a small smile.

He looked up from the ground, a smile appearing on his face at seeing her. She’d expected him to be a little awkward, to look a little guilty or sad, but he didn’t. In fact, he actually looked... Happy.

“Hermione,” he grinned. “I wasn’t expecting you to reply so quickly.”

“Well, seeing the time of night, I assumed you’d just finished patrols and would be tired, so I didn’t see any point in making you wait any longer. The quicker I replied, the quicker you could get the much-earned sleep you deserve. So, what do you need me for? Please tell me you haven’t run out of potions.”

His grin widened and he shook his head. “No, I’ve barely used a single vial.”

“That’s brilliant,” she praised.

“Sam wanted me to speak with you and ask if you’ve learned anything new. He’s becoming more insistent the Bella die and we find a way to break through your wards, despite knowing we can’t.”

She rolled her eyes. “When all of this bloody mess is over and done with I’m going to slap him, Alpha or not.”

“Now that, I can’t wait to see,” Paul replied, amusement laced into his words.

“As for my research, no, I haven’t learned anything new, but I’ve bought us more time. Bella was originally due to give birth in less than a week due to the accelerated growth of the thing inside of her, but I gave her some potions which have decelerated the ageing and growth and reverted her back in her pregnancy a few weeks, buying us another month before she goes into labour. I’ve called in reinforcements to help with the research. Charlie should be here any day now, he knows more about vampires than anyone I know, so if anyone can figure this out it’s him. I’ll let you know as soon as I can. Alright?”

He nodded. “The pups miss you,” he said and she felt a tug in her chest. She missed them, too. “When they learned I’d been asked to meet with you, they wanted to come but Sam refused to allow them to.”

She nodded. “I’m glad he’s keeping his promise and keeping them out of this.”

He snorted. “He’s scared of you, he doesn’t wish to see what you’d do to him should he let the pups get anywhere near this.”

“Smart man,” she replied. “I’ll be right back.”

Before he could question her, she had disappeared from view, returning moments later with two books in her grasp.

“Give them these, it should keep them occupied until I see them again,” she handed them over to him. “Right, I suppose I better get back and get some rest before I continue with my research.”

“Before you go...” He reached out for her arm to stop her from leaving. She looked down at his hand on her arm warily. “There’s something I want to tell you.”

“What?” She asked cautiously.

He grinned at her. “I imprinted.”

“What!” She said dumbly.

He laughed. “I imprinted, last Sunday.”

She stared at him blankly before a squeal of happiness erupted from her and she jumped over to him, hugging him tightly. He chuckled and hugged her back.

“I can’t believe it, who is it, you have to tell me?” 

She pulled back from him, her smile matching his.

“Rachel Black, Jake’s sister, she’s just graduated college and returned from Seattle.”

“Huh, that explains so much,” she mused. He arched a questioning eyebrow. “Jacob disappeared for a few hours last Sunday, when he returned he seemed agitated but after we got some food in him and he’d gone for a walk, he appeared to have calmed down a lot, I take it he knows.”

He nodded. “Billy told him.”

She gave another sudden squeal of happiness and hugged him tightly again and his laughter grew louder.

“I’m so happy for you. You have to tell me all about her. Is she pretty? Smart? Kind? Please tell me she’s not a bitch, I’m already surrounded with Bella, Leah and the Ice Queen.” He snorted at her. She frowned. “What the hell are you still doing here talking to me? Go home and get some sleep so you can spend the day with her tomorrow. I want to know everything and in order for that to happen, you need to get to know her better. Go on, you need to be well-rested to work that charm of yours on her. Off you go,” she shooed him away with her hands.

“You’re so bossy,” he muttered.

“Yes, I am, you should be used to it by now. Everyone else is; they don’t bother questioning my actions or words anymore.”

“It’s easier to just listen to you, we’ve come to learn you’re always right,” he replied, and she suspected his words had a deeper meaning.

“Yes, I am,” she agreed before turning to walk away, only he caught her arm one final time and turned her to face him.

“I still love you,” he admitted. She kept her eyes on his. “And I know that I’ll always love you, there was no supernatural bond influencing my emotions with you. I loved you because I wanted to, I love because of who you are. Despite that, despite it only being because of the bond, I love Rachel now.”

“More than you do me, as I said you would. Honestly, Paul, I couldn’t be any happier for you and now you understand why I couldn’t betray Seth in that way.”

He nodded. “I do, I don’t know how he hasn’t tried to kill me yet, if the roles were reversed and he’d gone after Rachel, knowing I’d imprinted on her, packmate or not, I can’t imagine it ending well.”

“Seth has a remarkable kind and calm nature, which I’m grateful for. Now go, you need your rest and I need to get back to Seth before he comes looking for me. I know he’s been worried about me and it’s not fair on him that I remain out of his sight for too long, knowing he likes to be nearby should I need him. I’ll see you soon and if I discover anything I’ll let you know.”

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you.”

“For what?” She asked confused.

“For being you.”

~000~000~000~

“Everything alright?” Seth mumbled, pulling Hermione to him after she climbed back into bed.

“Hmmm,” she hummed, snuggling into him and placing her ear over his heart, listening to the rhythmic beating. “Sam asked Paul to meet with me; he wanted an update on the pregnancy situation. Paul said Sam’s becoming more agitated as the days go by and he’s more insistent that the pack finds a way to break through my wards and kill Bella. We may have to double up patrols just as a precaution.”

“He didn’t try anything, did he?”

She shook her head and a smile appeared. “No, he’s imprinted.”

“He has?” Seth said surprised, suddenly more awake than before.

“Yep, and on Rachel Black, Jacob’s sister.”

“That explains _so_ much,” Seth mused and she nodded in agreement. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about him going after you or making you uncomfortable anymore.”

“I’m so happy for him, he deserves to have someone love him and take care of him. To protect him from himself and help him with his anger.”

“I doubt he’ll change much, he’s always been a cocky asshole, only now he’ll be a cocky asshole who’s in love.”

“Fair point,” she snorted. “What are you doing?” She asked, barely containing her amusement when she felt his hands beginning to wander. “We should be sleeping.”

A huff of surprise left her when she found herself lying beneath him with him hovering over her.

“I’d much rather do this instead,” he replied.

“Merlin, what have I created?”

She laughed as he attacked her neck with kisses.

~000~000~000~

Back and forth. Back and forth. Hermione paced in the living room of the Cullen’s house, having had enough of hitting a dead end with her research.

“Sit down, you’re making me dizzy,” Emmet said.

“You’re dead, you don’t get dizzy” Hermione replied distractedly, tugging at her hair in frustration.

“You’re going to wear a hole in the flooring.”

“Maybe you could, but it’s virtually impossible for me to do so, it’d take years.”

“Your legs will fall off if you keep doing that.”

“No, they won’t. Stop being so dramatic, and I swear, if you make another comment, my future responses will be far less pleasant.”

Rosalie, Jasper and Jacob snorted at her whilst Emmet appeared amused, looking as though he were deciding if it would be wise to push her buttons when she was so clearly agitated.

“Don’t do it, even you’re not that stupid,” Jacob spoke.

“Thanks, I think,” Emmet replied, much to the amusement of Carlisle and Esme, who both watched Hermione carefully whilst Edward was with Bella in their room.

“Has your brother received your letter yet?” Jasper asked.

She continued pacing. “He should have by now and I have no doubt he’ll come to help. I know he’s due time off from work, it’s just arranging transport that can be a bit of a bother since it needs to be approved before use. He’ll just show up unannounced, he loves to make an entrance.”

“I’m well aware,” Jacob snorted. “I hope he leaves his little _pet_ at home.”

“Yes, so do I. I can’t be watching Benji to ensure he doesn’t escape or accidentally hurt someone.”

_‘Hermione?’_

_‘What’s wrong?’_ Hermione questioned Seth, bringing her hand up to her necklace.

_‘Nothing’s wrong, Charlie’s just arrived, about a half a mile west from the tent, I can hear him grumbling to himself.’_

_‘Alright, thanks for letting me know, I’ll collect him and meet you at the tent, you contact Leah and let her know, I’ll tell Jacob.’_

_‘Okay, I’ll see you soon.’_

She stopped in her pacing and turned to face Jacob. “Charlie’s here, Seth just contacted me. I’ll collect him and meet you at home in about thirty minutes. Do you mind taking the couch? I have no doubt Leah and Charlie will want to be together and it’s not fair to have you anywhere near them.”

He grimaced. “I’ll sleep in a dumpster if it gets me away from them.”

She snorted. “Luckily for you, you don’t have to.” She then turned to the Cullens, seeing them all staring at her. “My brother’s here. I’ll let him settle in before bringing him to the house in about an hour, hopefully, he can shed some light on the situation we’re in.”

Not giving them the chance to reply, she left the house, moving into the woods and apparating half a mile west from her tent. She landed smoothly on her feet before she began making her way through the woods, hoping to run into him before she resorted to Tracking Magic.

It was ten minutes later when she found him.

“Benji, you can’t set fire to the trees,” Charlie scolded.

Hermione brought her hands to her temples and began rubbing, knowing Charlie had done exactly what she’d hoped he wouldn’t.

She took a calming breath and moved forward, Charlie and Benji coming into her view. The root of a tree was smoking due to the fire that had recently been extinguished and Benji flapped his wings in the air, keeping him eye level with Charlie as he continued to scold the friendly dragon.

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing bringing Benji with you?”

Charlie spun around to face her, not bothering to look apologetic about his actions. Instead, he smiled and opened his arms wide as he approached her.

“Little Sis, how you doing, I’ve missed you?” He said, engulfing her in a hug and ignoring her splutters and chiding.

“Charlie, let me go so I can shout at you for bringing Benji. What were you thinking?”

Charlie pulled back from her and pouted. “But he missed you; he’s starting to go off his food again, it’s been too long since your last visit.”

“He looks perfectly fine to me,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest and lifting her chin higher, her eyes raking over the not so little dragon.

Whilst Benji was now half the size of a small car and it was evident that he’d grown, he was still small for his species, but that was to be expected. With him refusing food after his first few months of hatching which set back his development, dragons also tended to grow slowly their first year before they’d suddenly sprout in size.

Benji flew over to her and being too large to sit on her shoulder, he landed on the ground and wrapped his tail around her legs, nuzzling his head against her thigh. Hermione sighed and unfolded her arms, lowering her hand to scratch at the dragon’s head.

“I missed you, too,” she begrudgingly admitted, her mouth twitching when the dragon let out a strange sound that was similar to a purr.

“See, besides, we’re dealing with vampires, which I want more information on, they know of the existence of dragons,” Charlie shrugged.

“Only four of them know of my status as a witch, we’ve been keeping it a secret.”

“Oh, oops,” he said sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes at him. “The only reason they know is that they were present when Ronald found me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve heard all about it from the twins and Bill. He’s lost his Auror badge, due to his status as a War Hero it’s been kept out of the press and he’s been spared a sentence in Azkaban, unless he hurts you again, that is. But when I get my hands on him he’s going to lose a few body parts, too,” he promised, a dark look entering his eyes.

“Just don’t kill him,” she said, seeing no point in trying to convince him to leave his brother alone. Charlie was the most stubborn of the Weasley bunch.

“It’s not me you have to worry about,” he replied, looking down at Benji.

“You can’t kill him either,” she told the dragon. He gave a growl of disagreement and Charlie snorted.

“He’s rather protective of you; you are his mummy after all.”

“Oh, ha ha, you’re just hilarious,” she rolled her eyes.

“Of course I am, someone had to teach the twins everything they know,” he said arrogantly, flipping his hair out of his face and over his shoulder.

“Idiot,” she rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s get you back to the tent, they’re waiting for us. I’ll explain everything later, though it’s going to be easier to show you. What we’re dealing with is... Well, to be honest, fucked up.” He raised an eyebrow in surprise at her language. “We’ll have to keep Benji away from the vampires.”

“That’s going to be difficult,” he replied, looking at the way the dragon was curled around her protectively.

~000~000~000~

When they entered the tent, Leah, Jacob and Seth were already present and their eyes widened when they saw the dragon fly in after them, landing on the couch and curling up into a ball.

“I can’t believe you actually brought him,” Jacob laughed.

“It’s not funny, it’s going to be difficult keeping him away from the Cullens, particularly since Carlisle, Esme and Edward don’t know of my being a witch. How are they going to react to seeing a dragon?”

“It _is_ funny,” Jacob laughed.

Hermione threw her hands up in the air in frustration before storming out of the living room and towards the spare bedroom so she could change it back to the original layout of only one set of furniture. A few minutes later, Jacob, Seth and Benji entered the room, likely having greeted her brother and allowing him and Leah a little time together.

They stayed in the room for fifteen minutes before leaving and moving back to the living room, seeing Charlie and Leah sat together on the couch and both looking a little tussled. Seth grimaced, Jacob smothered his laughter and Hermione hid her smile before gesturing for the couple to move off the couch so she could transfigure it into a large bed to perfectly fit Jacob’s large frame.

“Right, we better show Charlie what we’re dealing with,” Hermione said.

Charlie noted the way the three shifters shuffled on their feet in discomfort before following them out of the tent and towards the house. He didn’t bother taking in the details of the house environment, knowing Hermione had asked him there for a specific reason and that was what he had to focus on.

Hermione entered the house first, followed by Seth and Jacob. Charlie followed after him and surprisingly, Leah followed behind Charlie. She’d only set foot in the Cullen house once for no more than five minutes since they’d been pulled into the situation, but Hermione knew she was protective of Charlie and wanted to be close by for his safety. He might not have been her imprint, but he was her boyfriend and he was important to her.

Charlie’s eyes quickly flittered over the occupants of the room and he immediately became aware of his magic warning him against danger. From a single glance, he knew there to be seven vampires staring at him and one human not looking to be doing so well. Despite himself, he felt his hand moving to his back pocket where his wand was hidden.

“Before we explain why we need your expertise, I’ll introduce you. We have Jasper and Alice, Emmet and Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme, and Edward and Bella.”

Charlie wasn’t oblivious to the change in her tone when introducing him to the occupants of the room. With the first four, Hermione seemed friendly, with the next two she seemed respectful as you would with parents, and the last two had been spoken with clear dislike. He wasn’t the only one to notice.

“Carlisle is a muggle doctor and he’s been responsible for tracking and documenting Bella’s health.”

The vampire in question stood and approached him. “We thank you for coming on such short notice. We need all the help we can get and Hermione has told us you’re the best at what you do.”

Carlisle held his hand out, Charlie eyed it before placing his hand in the vampire’s and shaking it, aware of how Leah shifted closer to him. He allowed his hand to fall away from his back pocket and he shifted it until it brushed against Leah’s, feeling her calm slightly at his touch.

“I am,” Charlie replied.

“And so modest, too,” Hermione rolled her eyes.

Charlie removed his hand from Carlisle’s and gently shoved Hermione. She reached up and slapped him over the head in retaliation. They both stared each other down, Hermione with her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed, whilst Charlie had his eyes narrowed and his hands crossed over his chest. Several people in the room were amused by the display, others, not so much.

“When you’re done being so childish, maybe you can actually get on with the reasoning for involving another human!” Snapped Edward.

“Stop being so bloody moody, you sour disco ball,” Hermione replied. “You’re the reason you’re in this mess in the first place.”

Emmet’s laughter boomed and Charlie blinked in surprise.

“I know, he reminds me of you, too, a giant walking, talking teddy bear,” she told Charlie. She then took a deep breath. “Right, prepare yourself.”

“For what?”

Hermione looked to Bella expectantly and Edward helped her to stand, her blanket falling from her lap and revealing her large, pregnant stomach.

Charlie stared.

He looked to Hermione, to Bella, around the occupants of the room all watching him carefully, back to Bella and then back to Hermione.

“I know,” she said softly, knowing he was feeling the exact same way she had.

“Please tell me she’s just fat,” Charlie said quietly.

“Pregnant,” Hermione said gently.

“Vampire? Please tell me it’s not, please tell me it’s a human father,” he pleaded.

“Vampire,” she replied.

The room plunged into silence, their eyes glued to Charlie as he stared at Bella in horror. His face paled and then he darted to the kitchen, emptying the contents of his stomach into the kitchen sink.


	51. Chapter 51

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 10

**Saturday 16th September 2006**

Hermione appeared beside Charlie with a glass of water ready for him and he lifted his head and stared at her in horror before taking the glass from her.

“Why did you call me in, you know what’s going to happen?” He spoke quietly, being well aware that everyone but the human in the room could hear him, and from the corner of his eye he noticed them all standing and staring at him.

She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing, so I forced it out of my mind and I focused on finding other possible outcomes. I’ve cross-referenced hundreds of books, I’ve read thousands of extracts and gone over countless other possibilities,” she replied, her voice equally as quiet as his had been. “I’ve suspected from the very beginning that the rumours were true but without any evidence, I couldn’t be sure.”

He put the glass down on the side and turned his body towards hers. “You know what we have to do next,” he muttered.

She closed her eyes tightly. “I’m scared, Charlie,” she whispered in admittance.

“You and me both,” he said quietly as he reached over to pull her into him, hugging her tightly and resting his chin on top of her head.

“I don’t want to do it.”

“We don’t have a choice. You and I both know that we have a duty to our people, to protect them from something such as this.”

“What the hell’s going on?” Rosalie finally demanded, getting bored of listening to their hushed conversation and not getting answers due to their vagueness.

Hermione and Charlie pulled back from each other before he took her hand in his and pulled her back over to the gathered group, the vampires, human and shape-shifters all watching them expectantly.

“Well?” Jacob prompted, a lot kinder than Rosalie had. He didn’t like the way she and Charlie looked to each other for support, apparently trying to figure out the best way to break the news to them, or even _if_ they should break the news to them. He felt his stomach twisting painfully, uncomfortably. It was bad. He could feel it.

They both took a breath and closed their eyes, visibly collecting themselves and once they opened their eyes, they stood taller, still hand in hand, and their faces were set in a blank mask of indifference.

“Hermione and I have both heard rumours regarding a situation similar to the one we are dealing with now,” Charlie spoke, choosing his words carefully.

“And? Given that your reaction matched Hermione’s exactly, it’s not good is it?” Alice spoke, her tinkling voice quiet and her hand held by Jasper as they stood off to the side.

Hermione lifted her eyes and they locked onto Jasper. He raised a questioning eyebrow and she shook her head slightly, indicating that it wasn’t good. The others were too busy looking at Charlie to notice their small interaction. Jasper closed his eyes briefly before wrapping his arm around Alice’s shoulder and pulling her into his side protectively.

“The rumours that we’ve heard are not pleasant,” he admitted, feeling the entire atmosphere in the room plummet to something cold and frightening, something so tense and unwelcoming that Hermione shivered.

“But that doesn’t mean that they’re correct,” Hermione added, unsure if she were trying to convince them or herself. “As we said, they are rumours and we all know that rumours can’t be trusted. I’ve come to a standstill regarding my research and nothing I have come across has been even remotely helpful.”

“So what’s the next step?” Carlisle asked. “Bella is due for labour in a matter of weeks.”

Hermione and Charlie looked to each other before they nodded in agreement, but neither of them looked to be pleased with their next course of action.

“There is someone we know,” Charlie said. “Someone that may be able to tell us everything we need to know.”

“And that is?” Jasper asked curiously.

“We don’t know,” they both replied.

“Where are they?”

“We don’t know,” they repeated, to the many frowns of confusion in the room.

“But you just said...”

“I know,” Charlie interrupted. “We know of someone, the only problem is we don’t know who they are or where they are, but we have a starting point.”

“And that is?” Esme asked with a slight crease in her forehead.

“We can’t tell you,” Hermione replied. “We’ve already said too much.”

“You haven’t said anything,” Edward snapped.

Hermione narrowed her eyes on him. “You can’t blame anyone but yourself for this mess. What the bloody hell were you thinking? She’s human, you could’ve killed her!”

“But I didn’t,” he snarled.

“ _Barely_ , I bet you left bruises, didn’t you?” All eyes were flying between her and him. “That’s what I thought. You think you’re special, don’t you?” Her voice had taken a chilly tone and she released Charlie’s hand and took a threatening step forward. “Well let me tell you, _Mind Reader_ , you are not the only being in the world that is able to read the thoughts of others, if we so wished it, both myself and Charlie could easily force our way into your mind and see every thought you’ve ever had. Maybe we should do that, maybe we should see how you like it.”

“Hermione,” Seth said softly, trying to calm her before things escalated.

“You think you’re the only vampire to have taken an interest in a human? You think you’re the only vampire to have slept with a human?” She saw his eyes widen slightly. “God! You actually thought that!” She couldn’t help the laugh that left her. “You’re a vampire but you’re not special. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to fix the fucking mess you’ve made!” She snapped before storming out of the room, down the steps and outside.

The room remained silent until Emmet burst out laughing, his booming laughter surprising Charlie and startling the others.

“To be fair, you deserved that one,” Emmet laughed and shrugged. “You’ve been a pain in the ass for decades; it’s about time someone took you down.”

Charlie cleared his throat. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I better make sure she doesn’t set something on fire. We’ll plan our next steps, hopefully, we’ll be out of here by morning.”

“Hold on, what do you mean?” Seth asked with a frown.

“If we want to find out if the rumours are true, we need to go straight to the source. Hermione and I will be leaving in the morning. We know the starting point and the rest will fall into place. So, I better get going so we can ready for leaving.”

~000~000~000~

“Charlie said you’re leaving in the morning,” Seth spoke, drawing Hermione’s attention.

She put her book down and turned to face him, seeing him leaning against the door frame of the bedroom door.

“Yes, we are,” she sighed.

Seth stepped into the room and closed the door behind him before walking over to the bed and climbing on beside her. The moment he laid down, she was snuggling into him and listening to his calming heartbeat.

“How long will you be gone?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “We honestly don’t know who we’re looking for or where they are, but we do have a starting point. Once we get there, we’ll follow the trail and hopefully, it’ll lead us to where we need to be and we’ll get the answers we’re looking for and we’ll know what to do.”

“Do you know what it is?”

Hermione took a deep breath and held Seth tighter.

“Yes, and hopefully, I’m wrong.”

“We all saw your reaction to finding out about the pregnancy, and we all saw Charlie’s, too. Just how bad is it?”

“Bad, it’s really bad,” she whispered. “And honestly, I’m afraid of learning the truth.”

Seth looked down at her when he felt her body shaking; at first he thought she was having another tremor but there was no sign of pain on her face, only fear.

“You’re scared, aren’t you?”

“Terrified,” she whispered.

“I’m coming with you.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s better that only Charlie and I go, we don’t want to risk drawing any unwanted attention, and the fewer people that go, there is less of a chance of someone getting injured; where we’re going is dangerous. I don’t want you anywhere near this, and I told you before, I’m not letting your education suffer because of them. I love you and I only want what’s best for you.”

“I don’t like it, I don’t like that you’re leaving and I don’t know where you’re going,” he muttered.

“Trust me, Seth, if this wasn’t our only option, Charlie and I wouldn’t be going either. If the Dragon Keeper’s afraid, then it’s cause for worry.”

“You won’t have me for protection.”

Her mouth twitched. “Not this time, but let’s not forget I’m a witch with a magical wand, I have my Dragon Keeper brother with me, _and_ we’re taking Benji with us. He won’t let anyone within twenty feet of us if he thinks we’ll be in danger. You can’t always be the one to save me, My Wolf.”

He sighed. “You’ll be gone for your birthday,” he said and she nodded. “Mom will be disappointed; she was planning a dinner in your honour.”

Hermione felt her mouth pull into a smile. “I may be back in time, and if not, we can always do it another time, a time when we’re not all too busy focusing on saving bloody Bella Swan’s life.”

“I suppose I better give you your gift now,” he mused

He shuffled himself away from her and climbed off the bed, making his way over to the desk and digging inside of his jacket pocket that was hung on the back of the chair. He pulled out a rectangular box and headed back over to the bed, sitting beside her and handing her the box with a smile.

“What is it?” She asked as she took the box from him.

“Your birthday present, open it.”

Hermione removed the lid from the box and her eyes widened slightly at the sight that met her. A bracelet. It was a simple silver chain that consisted of only a small love heart that matched the design of her promise ring, and it was accompanied by a charm, a carving of a wolf. 

“Why do you insist on buying my jewellery?”

His mouth pulled into a smile. “Because you’re not a materialistic person, and that makes me want to give you everything. There’s no point in me buying you books, the chances are that anything I bought you you’d already have, and I know your family would resort to books, so I thought I’d get you something you didn’t have,” he answered, taking the bracelet from the box and fastening it around her wrist. “Happy not yet your birthday.”

She laughed at him and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I’m going to miss you,” she sighed. “But I’ll come back to you.

~000~000~000~

**Sunday 17th September 2006**

“Please look after each other,” Hermione said, her eyes darting between the three wolves.

“We’ll be fine,” Jacob rolled his eyes.

“I don’t believe you,” she replied, earning snorts from Leah, Seth and Charlie. “We’ll keep in contact; I’ll make sure to check in regularly so you know we’re fine. And I set up a meeting with Embry and Quil, you can relay to them everything you know, and be sure to inform them that once we return, we’ll reveal everything we know. Alright?” They nodded. “Good, now, you boys need to get to school and we had better get going, too.”

They said their goodbyes before Charlie and Hermione left the tent with Benji following after them.

“You have everything sorted?” Charlie asked her as they trudged through the woods.

“Yes, Harry’s managed to acquire us a temporary port-keying license, we’ll be able to port-key as many times as we wish without having to inform the Ministries every time we do. That’ll keep them off our backs and us from breaking the law.”

“That’ll come in useful,” he nodded in agreement.

“We’re going to need it, our first stop is Norway, and hopefully we’ll be able to follow the trail and it’ll lead us to where we need to be in a matter of days. We don’t have long left, labour’s set to happen soon, and to be honest, I don’t know how much longer Bella has left.”

“Judging by the look of her, I’d stay a week, maybe two, at best. If the rumours are true, whatever is inside of her is slowly killing her, draining her life force and taking it for themselves, which would explain the accelerated development of the pregnancy.” Hermione shivered at his words. “We have no time for messing around; we need to focus on our task and nothing else.”

“Agreed,” Hermione said before halting at a stop and pulling out the first port-key of their travels. If she’d placed the correct coordinates on the port-key, they would land somewhere in the middle of the Norwegian forests.

“We be careful and we watch out for each other,” she said.

Charlie nodded. “If anything were to happen to me, you leave and you get yourself to safety.”

She nodded and took a deep breath. “And the same goes for you.”

~000~000~000~

**Friday 22nd September 2006**

Days had passed since Hermione and Charlie had left to discover the secrets and truths behind the rumours. Days of port-keying, of hiking and traipsing through woods and forests, of following leads and finding dead ends.

Days of sleeping in the middle of nowhere with only a Warming Charm, a sleeping bag, Hermione’s wards and Benji for protection against the cold nights and the dangers that lurked in the dark.

Days of eating tinned food and drinking water conjured from a wand, of reading and pouring over books they knew wouldn’t be the slightest bit helpful but they continued to do so anyway.

Days of only having each other for company, of only having each other for protection and only being able to trust each other. Days of only being able to take out their anger on each other.

Hermione sighed when Charlie kicked an empty tin across the ground in annoyance of falling into another dead end. They were currently in Algeria, their seventh destination in the week that had passed. They’d only been there a couple of hours when they realised that the trail they had followed to their current location led them into _another_ dead end, and this wasn’t the first time it had happened.

“Charlie,” she muttered, putting down her own tin of soup which she had heated with a Warming Charm. “I know you’re frustrated.”

“No, you don’t!” He snapped. “You can’t possibly know that, you can’t possibly understand what I’m feeling!”

He paced back and forth in front of the firepit they had created to keep them warm in the dead of night, and the fire reflected in Hermione’s eyes.

“You’re right, I can’t possibly know how you’re feeling, I mean, it’s not as though I’ve been with you every step of the way or anything,” she replied, her voice void of any emotion. “It’s not as though I haven’t run into the same dead ends as you, is it? Or that I’m not sleeping in the same conditions as you, or that I don’t have the foggiest of what we’re doing or where we’re heading, is it?”

He stopped his pacing and turned his body to face her, the annoyed look on his face softening slightly.

“It’s not as though I’ve been in a similar situation before, is it? Where I’ve been on the run, trying to complete a mission that would help to save the Wizarding World? That’s nothing like what we’re doing right now.”

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

“You’re right, I’m sorry and I shouldn’t take my anger out on you. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Glad to see you can pull yourself together without me babying you,” she replied.

He snorted and moved to sit on the log opposite her, putting them on either side of the fire. Charlie lifted his eyes to her, his mouth twitching when he saw that Benji was curled up against her with his large head resting on her thighs and his tail was wrapped around her legs.

“It’s too bad he’s not big enough to ride yet,” he commented, nodding to Benji.

“Not a chance in hell, I’ve had more than enough experience riding a dragon, thank you very much.”

He chuckled and shook his head, being well aware of the dragon she had flown out of Gringotts. News had reached Romania even before he’d been called to England for the Final Battle.

“Let’s go over everything we know.”

He groaned and dropped his head into his hands. “We’ve done this hundreds of times over the last week.”

“Then once more won’t kill us,” she replied. “So, we’re definitely sure that we’re looking in the right continent, just the wrong country. We should stick to Europe. We know the person we’re looking for is a vampire themselves but we still don’t know their name or whereabouts.”

Charlie sighed and lifted his head. “We definitely know they’re not in Norway, Belarus, Spain, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine or Algeria, so we can cross those off the list. For some reason, we’re always finding a trail that leads to a dead-end, which means whoever this is, doesn’t _want_ to be found. But why? What could this vampire possibly fear?” He mused out loud.

She bit her lip in thought. “That’s a good point. _Why_ are they in hiding? And why have they been in hiding for so long? And judging from the timeline we’ve managed to piece together, these rumours first started around two thousand years ago.”

“Which would make this vampire, as far as we’re aware, one of the oldest in existence. So we can assume they’re one of the first to be discovered,” Charlie said and she nodded in agreement.

“So, where was the first vampire discovered?”

He shrugged. “Everyone knows that.”

“Transylvania,” they chorused before a sudden metaphorical light bulb went off above their heads.

“It can’t be,” she said, dumbfounded. “It’s so simple, so obvious.”

“Which is why it’s perfect. Hiding in the most obvious of places would give you the protection you wanted. No one would think to look for you there, especially since the whole muggles discovering vampires fiasco back in the fifteen hundreds. No vampire has dared to set foot anywhere near Transylvania.”

“Which makes it perfect,” Hermione agreed.

“Well, I guess we’re heading to Romania. Bloody hell, we could’ve saved ourselves a lot of time and energy if we’d figured this out sooner,” he groaned. “Well, if we pack up now, we can head to the Reserve and spend the night at my place. Once we’re rested, we can head straight over to Transylvania, it’s only a couple hundred miles from the Reserve.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

~000~000~000~

**Saturday 23rd September 2006**

_‘And you’re sure you’re fine?’_

_‘Seth, I am perfectly healthy, Charlie’s been taking good care of me, there’s nothing for you to worry about,’_ she promised her boyfriend through their own mind link.

 _‘I’m just worried about you,’_ he replied.

_‘I know you are, but I’ll be back before you know it. Charlie and I think we have a lead.’_

_‘You’ve been saying that for the last few days,’_ he grumbled, and Hermione could practically hear the pout in his voice.

_‘I know I have, but I mean it this time. This lead might actually take us to where we need to go, and if we’re right and all goes to plan, we’ll be back in the next couple of days. Now, enough of that; how is everything?’_

_‘Things have been tense since you left, Edward seems to be arguing more with Rosalie, Jasper, Alice and Emmet, and Esme’s doing her best to be the mediator, as usual. Carlisle’s worried about Bella’s development but he’s still giving her your Nutrition Potions regularly, though she still looks as though she’s going to die at any given moment. Jake’s been storming about the place, he’s worried about you and he’s deliberately picking fights will Edward to keep him distracted so he’s not worrying about you. Leah’s been quieter than usual, so I know she misses Charlie. Jake set up a meeting with Sam, after they’d finally calmed down enough to listen to each other, Sam’s agreed to step back until you return, hopefully, with a solution. He’s placing his trust in you.’_

_‘I haven’t let him down and I’m not going to start now,’_ she replied. _‘Now that I know how they’re doing, how are you doing?’_

 _‘I miss you,’_ he sighed.

_‘I miss you, too.’_

_‘It’s really quiet without you, things don’t feel right, and not just because of me, but Jacob and Leah are acting differently, too.’_

_‘Hopefully, I’ll be back soon with a way to fix all of this mess and the pack can get back together and everything will go back to normal. How’s school?’_

_‘The same as usual, but I did get an A on my Chemistry test.’_

_‘That’s brilliant,’_ she exclaimed in pride.

_‘Well, I’ve spent so much time watching you in your potions lab that I was bound to pick up on a few things.’_

_‘Well, I’m really proud of you. I’ve got to go, Charlie’s just got back with Benji; we’re off now. Just remember that I love you and I’ll be back with you soon enough.’_

_~_ 000 _~_ 000 _~_ 000 _~_

“Are we sure about this?” Hermione asked Charlie, her eyes darting about the forest they were currently traipsing through blindly.

“No, but it’s the best lead we’ve had so far and this actually has something to it. I think this may be it, I’ve got a feeling.”

“Yeah, me too, and I don’t like it,” she replied, pulling her coat closed and crossing her arms over her chest, her wand gripped in her hand just in case.

“I thought it was just me,” he replied with a frown, noticing her actions.

“Do you get the feeling we’re being watched?” She asked quietly, her eyes seemingly everywhere, and he found himself mirroring her actions with his own wand in hand and his eyes darting about.

“Now that you mention it...”

A sudden rustling of leaves had Hermione halting in her steps and spinning around.

“Did you hear that?”

“Just the wind,” he waved her off.

The sound of several twigs snapping filled their ears.

“And that? Was that just the wind?” She hissed.

“I hope so,” he muttered, not wanting to admit it but Hermione was right, there _was_ something strange about the forest they were in. Something just seemed... Off.

Hermione felt the wind being knocked out of her as she was suddenly sent flying to the ground, her knees banging off the floor and her palms scraping against the rough foliage beneath her.

She felt Charlie touch her shoulder before his presence was suddenly gone from beside her and the sound of a loud ‘thud’ echoed in the forest. Panic and fear filled her, and she reached for her fallen wand, feeling the comfort of it wash over her when it was in her hand. She pushed herself up onto her feet, her eyes darting about before they landed on Charlie and his form crumpled to the ground beside a tree, and there was not a single sign of Benji.

She rushed to his side, dropping to her knees and quickly checking for a pulse. He was alive, just unconscious. She breathed a sigh of relief before standing and taking a defensive position, her eyes darting about her surroundings and her body slowly turning to see from all angles.

“I’m not stupid, I know you’re there. You may as well come out and make an appearance. I promise, I will be far easier to deal with if I’m not forced to resort to drastic measures.”

There was silence. Even the wind seemed to have fled as she could no longer hear it or feel it against her skin.

A sound of a twig snapping in half drew her attention and she spun around with her wand pointed, only to be taken off guard when a force slammed into her from behind, sending her barrelling into a tree and smacking into the ground.

Her head throbbed, her mind was fuzzy and her eyesight went blurry before everything went black.


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 11

**Saturday 23rd September 2006**

Hermione woke with a pounding headache, an aching back and a coldness settling into her bones. She groaned and blinked her eyes open, being grateful for the lack of bright lights trying to blind her. She used her elbows to help push her upper body up until she was reclining on her forearms and she was able to search her surroundings.

The room, it reminded her very much of the dungeons at Hogwarts. It wasn’t very large, there were no windows and the only light source in the room came from the lit torches that lined the stone walls. The room was barren but for the stone slab table she appeared to be laid on, and despite her clothing, the cold of the room had her body breaking out in goosebumps.

She swung her legs over the edge of the table, rolled her neck and shoulders, and then pressed a hand to her tender feeling stomach and she winced. She wouldn’t be surprised if she had a few broken ribs but she knew without a doubt she’d have bruising and if Seth were to see them before she had the chance to heal it, it would very difficult for her to calm him.

She sighed before hopping off the table, landing on the stone floor softly and her hands went to her pocket in search for her wand. Her hand stilled when she realised that not only was she no longer wearing her coat, her beaded bag was missing, too, leaving her with only her boots, her jeans and her woollen jumper.

She silently cursed as her eyes darted about the room in search of an escape route. Her eyes landed on the only door in the room and she raced over to it. The door was made of wooden planks and looked old, grabbing hold of the brass ring, she tugged several times but aside from the door rattling, nothing happened. She was locked in. She tried the door once more, trying to force it open but she only made herself dizzy.

She growled and stepped away from the door and she started pacing.

She didn’t know where she was.

She couldn’t escape the room she’d been locked in.

She had no wand.

She didn’t have her beaded bag.

She didn’t know where Charlie was, or Benji, and his fire breathing would’ve been very useful at that point in time.

She ran a hand through her hair, only just becoming aware of the fact that it was no longer left down her back, but tied back from her face in a tangle of curls and from the feel of it, held together by a bejewelled hair clip. She frowned and her lip became trapped between her teeth, nibbling at the corner as she tried to figure where the hell she was and what had happened.

She found herself moving until she was stood by the wall and in-between two torches, it being the only heat source in the room and without her coat, she was freezing. She could barely feel her nose or fingers as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to contain the heat of her body.

She lifted her eyes and they darted to the door when she heard a rattling, and slowly, it opened. She pushed herself away from the wall and held her hands down by her sides with her fists clenched tightly. She held her head high, her stance was strong and ready to fight and there was fire glinting in her eyes.

A figure stepped into the room and the door closed behind them. It wasn’t until they stepped into the firelight that she was able to see who she was dealing with.

She felt her mouth go dry. Her eyes examined him, staring from the bottom and moving up. Feet were clad in perfectly polished black dress shoes, black trousers, a perfectly pressed white shirt and a black tie that was tied loosely around the neck. Black robes with red lining were worn open and they reached down to the floor and trailed behind him. His face was unbelievably pale, his jaw and chin defined, red thin lips, a straight nose and high cheekbones which led to gleaming blood-red eyes and thick, black eyebrows. He had hair as black as night that was gelled back and tied in a knot at the back of his neck, it falling just below his shoulder blades. He looked young; not much older than her, she’d guess early-twenties. There was no denying that this man was handsome, incredibly so in fact, there was something god-like about his beauty, something unnatural.

She felt intrigued by him; there was something about him, something that drew you in. She wanted to be closer to him. She wanted to touch him. She was vaguely aware of her feet moving but she couldn’t find it in herself to care or stop

Her arm lifted without her telling it to and it was outstretched. Her hand came into contact with the soft fabric of his shirt and she pressed it firmly against his chest, feeling the hardness of his chest and the coldness that seeped through to her hand.

A thought of Seth flickered through her mind, of the thick muscle of his chest and the hotness of his skin, but it was pushed away, feeling her mind become fuzzy.

Her head came up to his chest and she slowly lifted her head, seeing that he was taller than her, very tall. Another thought of Seth came to her, of how he towered over her, of how he liked that she was so small as he could wrap her up in his arms where she was safe and loved. The haze in her mind grew heavier and she blinked.

Her eyes landed on the rubies that were his eyes, trapping her in an intense gaze. Seth entered her mind once more, his beautiful dark eyes with flecks of blue and green and his adorable smile. The haze in her mind grew heavier until she couldn’t focus and her she felt her eyes fluttering shut in exhaustion. Her hands flew up to his robe sleeves and she gripped them to stop herself from collapsing to the floor.

Her heartbeat picked up, as did her breathing and her grip on him tightened when she felt an ice-cold nose skimming the length of her throat and neck. His smell was heavy and intoxicating, nothing like Seth’s. Seth smelled like outdoors and soap, and depending on the clothing he wore, he would sometimes smell like her washing powder. It just depended on who had done his laundry for him, her or his mother. Seth’s smell was comforting and safe, it reminded her of home.

She felt ice-cold lips pressing a feather-soft kiss against her pulse point, followed by one at the junction of her neck and shoulder. It wasn’t right. The fog in her mind cleared slightly.

Another kiss was placed against her skin, the coldness of it felt like a burn. Something was wrong. The fog cleared a little more.

Another kiss was placed against her skin. It should’ve been Seth, not some stranger. The fog cleared a little more. Another kiss was placed against her skin.

She gasped, her eyes flew open and she released her grip on the man’s robes before wrenching herself as far away from him as she could, moving over to the other side of the small room.

She had thought of running for the door but she knew she’d never make it. She knew what he was. Now that the haze had left her, now that his beauty was no longer keeping her in a trance, she had full control of her mind and actions.

She narrowed her eyes and clenched her hands into fists, seeing the look of mild surprise flitter across the man’s face as he turned to face her.

“Who are you?” She demanded.

He slowly blinked before taking a step towards hers. She could feel the haze trying to enter her mind, trying to get her to lower her guard and inhabitations, but now she was wise to it. She slammed her Occlumency shields back up and held them firmly in place.

Whoever this man was, he had a gift, she wasn’t sure of the nature of it, but she knew he had one. She felt the haze retreat before it pushed forward in an attempt to control her, but this time it was ineffective. The man blinked in surprise.

“Who are you?” She demanded once more, her voice coming out from behind clenched teeth.

He tilted his head to the side, appraising her carefully. His red eyes trailing her figure slowly before landing on her face and seeing the fire held in her eyes.

“How did you do that?” He asked, avoiding her question. 

It was no surprise to Hermione that his voice was charming and heavenly, making her ears ring in pleasure. She brought thoughts of Seth to the front of her mind, remembering his loud laughter, remembering his soft tone when soothing her, remembering the growl laced into his words when in intimate moments. She opened her eyes, seeing that the man had taken another step towards her and she took one backwards.

“I have yet to meet a woman that is able to resist me,” he spoke, sounding confused, curious and surprised.

“Who are you? Where am I?”

He blinked. “Forgive my manners,” he tilted his head but didn’t answer her questions.

“Where’s Charlie?”

He blinked.

“Do not worry, my lady, your _lover_ is perfectly fine,” he replied.

Hermione blinked and she couldn’t stop her grimace at his words. “He’s not my lover, he’s my older brother,” she corrected.

The man blinked once more.

“Where am I? Why did you take us? Who are you?”

He tilted his head to the other side and she felt her anger beginning to build at the lack of answers she was receiving. Her nails bit into her palms and she took a steady breath, reigning in her magic.

“You were trespassing.”

This time she blinked. “From my understanding, we were on public property and therefore we were not trespassing.”

“It has not been public property for many years.”

She narrowed her eyes as he took another step forward and she took another step back.

“In that case, I apologise, we were unaware. We intended no disrespect, my brother and I were only looking for someone and we believed that we would find them on your land.”

Before she could blink she found herself pressed against the cold stone wall, being caged in by his body and he lowered his head, looking down at her. A hand under her chin forced her to lift her head and her gaze locked with his.

“Is that so?” He muttered softly.

“It is,” she replied calmly.

“May I inquire as to whom it is you are searching for?”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “We don’t know who it is, we don’t have a name or description of appearance. We’ve been searching for the past week. We started our search in Norway which has now led us here.”

“And what is your reason for your search?”

“We need help. My brother and I have been tasked with helping to solve a rather difficult and unusual problem. We have exhausted all our options and we do not have a lot of time left. We have heard rumours pertaining to our situation and wish to know if they are true, and if they are, how we are to deal with it quickly and efficiently.”

His eyes searched hers. “That does sound intriguing,” he muttered.

“Are we through playing this game now?” She asked and he blinked at her, slowly tilting his head to the side. “I know you’re a vampire.” If he was surprised by her revelation, he didn’t show it. “The person we are looking for is a vampire. The rumours first appeared around two thousand years ago, we are looking for someone that is old enough to have lived through that time or is old enough to be aware of them. The person we are looking for is well-hidden, we’ve been to several countries within Europe and after following countless dead ends, we realised that whoever this vampire is, they don’t want to be found. The first vampire was discovered here in Transylvania, and since that time, no vampire has dared to set foot here, which makes it a brilliant hiding place.”

“You are very intelligent,” he noted quietly.

“You’re not the first to tell me that,” she replied. “Now, are you the one we are looking for? If not, do you know who is? It’s too big a coincidence for my brother and I to be abducted by a vampire in a place we are looking for one.”

He eyed her carefully. “That is dependent on what you wish to know.”

“I have come a long way to get these answers. If the rumours are true and I do not learn of the truth quickly, a large number of people will suffer when I could’ve prevented it. I don’t have time for these stupid games. I have no more than a couple of weeks before it’s too late.”

“What is your name, _fromoasa_?”

Hermione pursed her lips at the foreign term. “Hermione Granger.”

“I have heard that name,” he mused.

“You may well have, you belong to my world, after all.” He sent her a questioning look. “Where is my wand?”

He blinked slowly before surprise flittered across his face. “You are Hermione Granger, the Warrior Witch?”

She rolled her eyes and sighed at the horrendous moniker. “Yes, I am.”

He took a step back from her and she pushed herself away from the cold stone. He gave her a curious look before taking her hand and before she could blink, she was no longer in the dungeon-like room, but in a spacious living room decorated in browns, reds and golds with plush furniture, stone walls and flooring, a large central fireplace, paintings lining the walls and candles and torches placed around the room and metal chandelier above.

She allowed a moment to allow her heartbeat to return to normal and for the dizziness she was feeling to fade before turning to look out the large windows to her right. She couldn’t see much given that it was now dark outside, the moon being the only lighting available, but what she could see was an expanse of woods. The woods she’d been in before being abducted.

Hermione turned her eyes to the vampire next to her before she spun on her heel, automatically going for her wand but it wasn’t there.

Behind her stood two men, their only similarities being that they were both pale and had blood-red eyes. The first was short, in fact, he was shorter than her. His hair was jet black and cut short, his ears looked too big for his head, as if he’d been changed before he’d had a chance to grow into them. He was wearing clothing of all black, making it difficult to determine if he were wearing cotton or leather, but she suspected it being the latter. If she had to guess the age at which he was changed, she would’ve guessed early-twenties. He was watching her curiously, his red eyes trained on her.

The second man, his hair was ashy blonde and combed in a way that it fell over his forehead. His eyelashes were of the same colour but they looked to be almost grey in the current lighting. He had thin pink lips and a slightly pointed chin. He wasn’t much taller than the other vampire, but he was still smaller than her. His clothing was also similar to the other vampire’s, being all black, but he wore fingerless gloves and what looked to be a cloak. She would guess his age at change to be similar to the other’s. His eyes were also watching her carefully before he shared a look with the vampire next to him.

“And just what is our dinner doing out of her holdings?” The first vampire asked.

The vampire next to her -much to her surprise- reached a hand out and snagged her wrist, his cold hand circling it protectively as he gently tugged her closer to his side. The motion did not go unnoticed.

“Stefan, Vladimir,” he greeted with a tip of his head.

Hermione frowned. She’d heard those names before, she was sure of it.

“She is not to be harmed.”

“Is that so?” The blonde asked lightly, Vladimir, she thought.

“Yes,” he replied, his voice darkening in a way that made her shiver. “You are guests in my home; do not forget your place. She is to be my guest and she is not to be harmed.”

 _So, they didn’t reside with him? Interesting,_ Hermione thought.

They eyed him carefully before nodding slowly but they didn’t look pleased with his orders.

“Does your guest have a name?” The blonde asked.

“Hermione Granger,” he replied.

In a manner similar to Fred and George, both vampires raised an eyebrow in unison.

“The Warrior Witch?” The black-haired vampire -Stefan- asked, looking intrigued.

“Yes.”

“And just what is she doing here?”

Hermione shifted uncomfortably, feeling the way both of their eyes practically burned into her. Their eyes looking as though they wanted to devour her, only it wouldn’t be for their dinner.

Hermione blinked when she heard a series of hisses, having become used to the Cullens doing this with her around, she knew he was speaking at a speed that she couldn’t decipher.

She felt a tug on her wrist and she blinked before looking up at the vampire next to her, he led her over to the couch and motioned for her to take a seat. When she did, he stood in front of her with the other two vampires flanking him. He crossed his arms behind his back and the other two folded their arms over their chests, their eyes watching her intensely.

“How did you resist me?”

She frowned. “I am trained in the art of Mind Magic,” she explained. “I am able to erect and hold a series of mental barriers in place that protects my mind from outside influences.”

He tilted his head. “That may be, but my charms are not only psychological. I am able to seduce _any_ woman I wish to through my allure. My pheromones are enhanced. That is why I am curious about you.”

She shrugged her shoulders. His eyes trailed over her slowly before he caught sight of her bracelet, reflecting in the light of the candles and torches. He stepped closer and took her hand in his, lifting her wrist higher. He arched an eyebrow at seeing the wolf charm before his eyes fell to her left hand and he caught sight of her ring. He lifted that hand as well and stared at the ring before releasing her hands and stepping back into place.

“Your heart belongs to another,” he stated knowingly.

She didn’t bother denying it. “Yes, I do.”

“His name?”

She raised an eyebrow but answered, “Seth.”

“Is he British like you?”

“No, he is American, I moved away from Britain a few months back. Memories of war are not pleasant, especially given what I was forced to do in my youth. I needed to leave for my health.”

“He is not human, is he?”

She blinked in surprise. She knew his meaning; he was referring to him not being a muggle.

“No, he is not a non-magical, nor is he a wizard. He is a natural-born shifter.”

“A wolf,” he said knowingly. She nodded. “I have seduced women that have given their hearts to another.”

“I am different to other women, what I am to Seth is the equivalent of a vampire mate, our bond may even be stronger.”

The three vampires looked curious but thankfully the subject was dropped.

“Miss. Granger, why are you looking for me?”

Her eyes widened slightly. “So you admit you are the one?”

“I do.”

“About bloody time,” she muttered under breath, but still being aware of their ability to hear her and their looks of amusement proved her right.

“You know my name, but I do not know yours.”

His red eyes held her gaze. “My name is Valerian, but you may know me as Dracula.”

She spluttered, unable to stop herself from doing so and she heard low chuckles. She buried her head in her hands and muttered to herself and after a moment of pulling herself together, she took a deep breath and lifted her head, sitting up taller.

“Well, you are certainly old enough to be the one I am looking for,” she spoke. “Where’s my brother?”

“He is fine,” he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I wish to know why you were searching for me.”

She sighed before clasping her hands in her lap to stop herself from fiddling with her clothing or fingers.

“As I said before, my brother and I have been tasked with solving a very unusual problem. The moment I became aware of the situation, the rumours I spoke of came to mind immediately, but I did not wish to believe them. I was too afraid of what they spoke of. I spent every moment possible researching, in hopes of finding another answer or solution. After countless dead-ends, I was forced to call my brother in to aid me. He is a Dragon Keeper for the Romanian Dragon Reserve, he is a magical creatures expert.” That earned raised eyebrows. “He had a similar reaction to I when he became aware of the situation, and he mentioned the rumours, too. We both knew what we had to do. We had to find... Well, _you_.”

“And what reaction would that be?” Vladimir asked.

“We lost the contents of our stomach in disgust and fear,” she answered.

“We have heard of you, of your battle skills and intelligence,” Stefan spoke. “What could possibly frighten you?”

She took a deep breath. “A human impregnated by a vampire.”

The room was deadly silent, something that frightened her more than if they were talking.

“Her pregnancy is developing at a rate never before seen. The child was conceived less than two months ago, yet she is due to give birth in less than two weeks. I stepped in and provided magical treatments that would revert the pregnancy back a few weeks, buying us more time. The human mother is dying, whatever is inside of her is killing her. If the rumours are true, I need to know.”

“Are you able to show me?” The newly revealed Dracula asked.

“Yes,” Hermione responded. “But I require my wand.”

When she blinked, her wand was held out for her and she stood and took it from him, feeling the comfort it brought her having it in her hand once again. She took a breath and placed the tip against her temple, pulling back with several silver stands following the wand's movement. With a flick of her wand, a large screen appeared and her memories replayed for the three vampires.

~000~000~000~

Hermione sat quietly, observing as Stefan and Vladimir spoke in hushed tones and their eyes darted between her, Dracula and the spot where the screen had been. Dracula was sat on an armchair, leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees and a blank look on his face. She knew it wasn’t good news. The rumours were true, even if he hadn’t yet confirmed it. His reaction did that for him.

What was she going to do?

As if sensing her thoughts, his red eyes snapped to her.

“They are true,” he muttered softly and Hermione took a deep breath and forced back the fear and tears. “I do not know how you came to hear of them, but I am most glad you did, and I am most glad that you have brought this information to me, you may have just saved the world.”

She opened her eyes, her gaze getting trapped in his.

“Millennia ago, I had a brother, Vasile, only a few know of him. He had seduced a human woman and impregnated her. She died before she could give birth. Much like your human, the child she was bearing had killed her from the inside. He did not learn from his mistake, and half a century later, he was able to impregnate a second human. She died but the child survived and was birthed. But it was not a child, not as we thought it would be. It was a monster.”

Hermione breathed deeply. Hearing a vampire use that word to describe another would never be comforting.

“The child grew quickly, three weeks later, it destroyed an entire village. Its lust for blood was something I had never before seen, far worse than that of a newborn. Within three months, it had almost wiped out an entire town. This child, it was neither a human nor a vampire, but a demon, a true being from the deep pits of hell. It was stronger, faster, and smarter than a vampire. Nothing could stop it, nothing could control it. It took my entire coven, thirty-three members to destroy it. Only twelve remained.”

Hermione took another shuddering breath.

“My brother, he tried to impregnate a further three women before I was forced to destroy him. He is the reason we were discovered, not I. It is forbidden for vampires to have relations with a human, particularly the males. Statistically speaking, it is very rare for a human to fall pregnant, but we could not risk it. The laws regarding vampire and human relations were instigated for this very reason, to prevent another massacre. If we had not defeated the child, the world as you now know it would never have come to exist.”

She clenched her hands into fists, closed her eyes and focused herself by thinking of Seth.

Seth!

Her eyes flew open.

“How do we destroy it? I have people that I love very much protecting the human from others that wish her harm. If I have to kill her, so be it, I don’t like her anyway.”

Vladimir snorted and gave her a look that looked like approval.

“We have an advantage, the child had not yet been born,” Dracula spoke, drawing her attention.

“Yes, but our window of opportunity is closing and closing fast. I have been gone a week and as far as I know, the development of the baby may have increased.”

“Unfortunately, you cannot be the one to do it.”

“Why not?” She frowned.

“I do not wish to burden you of the knowledge of its demise,” he spoke, giving her a soft look that made her uncomfortable. “We must do it,” he gestured to himself, Stefan and Vladimir. “We must return with you.”

She nodded slowly. “You should know, the father, Edward, he’s a nasty piece of work. He’s not going to let you anywhere near her if he knows of your plan. The stupid cow is adamant on keeping it. _It’s a product of their love_ ,” she said mockingly.

Vladimir and Stefan snorted at her.

“It is not a product of their love. It is a curse from hell,” Dracula corrected.

“He’s able to read minds, that’s his gift. He’s able to do so without touch or eye contact. I’ve been told he can read the minds of everyone within a two mile radius.” They all blinked in surprise. “But I have a solution.” She gestured to her necklace and their eyes were drawn to it. “I created these for my boyfriend and his pack. They protect the mind from outside influences; he won’t be able to hear your thoughts. But I don’t have any with me. I have a few spare at home. I can have us to our destination in a matter of minutes, but your presence won’t be well received. Seth’s sister, Leah, and my friend, Jacob, they are born to hate vampires and protect their land and people from them. It’s the reason for their shifting capabilities. It’s hard enough for them to be around the Cullens.”

“Do we have allies?”

“Yes, the rest of the pack, they wish to kill the child but the human is Jacob’s best friend, despite the fact she’s a selfish cow.” Stefan and Vladimir snorted at her. “I’m only helping because he begged me to and I’ve never been able to refuse him anything. Once he learns of this, it will be shared with the pack who are our allies. Also, I believe Rosalie, Emmet, Alice and Jasper will provide aid. Rosalie hates the human and Jasper isn’t too fond of her either. Alice and Emmet are their mates and will support them, especially once they learn the truth. Alice is able to see various outcomes of the future, Emmet has enhanced strength, and Jasper is able to feel and manipulate emotions.”

“That may be useful,” Dracula nodded. “We shall leave at first light. This must be dealt with as soon as possible.”

Hermione nodded in agreement before a roar drew her attention and a window suddenly shattered as an angry Benji ploughed through it, breathing fire towards the three vampires. All three of them had fled to the other side of the room in surprise.

Benji landed in front of her protectively, flapping his wings madly and roaring so loud it hurt her ears. She stood and reached out, running a hand over his back and she moved closer to him.

“It’s okay, Benji, I am safe and they are not going to harm me. And I thank you for your assistance and protection.”

He turned his head and roared at her.

“They are not going to harm me, I am safe because of you, you protected me. Thank you,” she muttered softly, running her hand over his head and scratching behind his ear.

The dragon turned his head and roared one more time at the vampires before Hermione settled back on the couch and the dragon lowered himself beside her, wrapping his tail around her protectively and resting his head on her lap, his eyes still on the three vampires, all of them staring at her with wide eyes.

“I would fix that for you, but you’ve left me with a few bruises and possibly a few broken ribs when you abducted me. When Seth sees them and learns of their origins, even I won’t be able to stop him from killing you,”

“Warrior Witch, indeed,” Vladimir muttered, snapping out of his surprise and amusement appeared on his face.

“He’s very protective of me,” she shrugged. “I had been visiting Charlie at the Dragon Reserve when Benji hatched from his egg. He thinks I’m his mother,” she explained. “And speaking of my brother.....” Before she could finish her sentence, Charlie was sitting beside her on the couch, looking dazed but uninjured.

She waited patiently for him to regain his bearings and his eyes snapped to her, seeing the broken window, the dragon curled up against her and three vampires.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” he said to her.

She sighed. “Charlie, prepare yourself, we’re likely going into battle. In a matter of hours, we are returning to Forks, and it’s not going to be pleasant.”


	53. Chapter 53

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 14

**Sunday 24th September 2006**

“Due to the time difference, we’ll be landing in Forks not long after eleven o’clock at night,” Hermione informed the three vampires before turning to Charlie. “We’ll head straight to the tent and I’ll retrieve Rosalie, Emmet, Alice and Jasper as soon as I can, hopefully, they won’t be out hunting. If they are, we’re going to have to rethink our plan of action.”

Charlie nodded. “I’ll focus my attention on Leah.”

“I bet you will,” she replied lightly, seeing Charlie roll his eyes and he shoved her lightly away from him.

“Like you won’t be doing the same with Seth,” he scoffed.

“Not only do I have Seth, I have Jacob, too, I’m the only one that can calm him. And when Seth learns of my bruises...”

“I see your point,” he nodded. “Have you inputted our coordinates?”

“Yes, I’ve got it set for leaving in ten minutes time, allowing us enough time to prep Benji for travelling.”

“I’ll start that now,” Charlie said, walking over to the dragon that was lounging on the couch and watching the three vampires carefully.

Hermione lifted her hand to her necklace and gripped it in her hand.

 _‘Seth?’_ She thought.

_‘Hermione? I haven’t heard from you since last night, are you okay? I’ve been worried.’_

_‘I’m perfectly fine,’_ she responded. _‘We’ve actually found the one we’re looking for.’_

 _‘You have?’_ He sounded surprised.

_‘Yes, it’s a long story and I’ll explain everything when we get back, I want you to warn Jacob and Leah, we’re bringing three vampires back with us. They’re the only ones who are able to deal with this situation. We should be back in Forks in fifteen minutes.’_

_‘It’s bad, isn’t it?’_

She sighed. _‘Yes, it is, but now we know what we’re dealing with and we have the only people that can take care of it. I’ll see you soon.’_

She released her grip on her necklace, seeing the curious looks the vampires were sending her, but she didn’t feel the need to inform them of what she’d been doing.

“Benji’s all set,” Charlie spoke, drawing her attention.

“Then let’s go.”

~000~000~000~

They all landed smoothly on their feet, the three vampires looking around their new surroundings with caution and curiosity.

“We’ll head to our tent first, I’ll have to readjust the wardings to allow you access. Charlie and I both need some sleep so we’ll do the big reveal tomorrow morning,” Hermione told them before turning on her heel and making her way towards her tent with Charlie by her side, Benji flying overhead and the three vampires following behind her slowly.

There was a rustle of leaves, twigs breaking under a heavyweight and before Hermione knew it, Seth stepped out from behind a tree, in nothing but jean shorts.

A smile appeared on her face before she darted forward and launched herself at him. He caught her as she ploughed into him and actually stumbled back a little under the force. He wrapped himself around her tightly and buried his nose against her neck, Hermione barely holding in a wince. She didn’t want to alert him to her injuries before she had the chance to heal them.

“I’ve missed you,” he muttered.

She sighed as the heat of his body radiated off him and onto her, helping to fend off the chill of the cold night. She had missed him.

“I missed you, too,” she replied, pulling back from him and taking his face in her hands as she scrutinised his appearance. She noticed he looked a little tired but other than that he was fine. “You’ve been sleeping?” She asked softly.

He nodded. “Yes, but I’ve grown used to you being with me at all times, so I didn’t sleep as well as I’d have liked. What about you? Any nightmares?”

“Unfortunately,” she muttered and he frowned. His eyes searched her face, but she knew he wouldn’t find anything as she had a well-cast Glamour covering the bruises under her eyes.

Hearing Benji give a roar, Hermione reluctantly pulled back from Seth and turned to face the others, seeing the three vampires watching her and Seth carefully, scrutinising their behaviour towards one another. She felt Seth tense from beside her and she interlocked her fingers with his, hoping to calm him.

“Vampires, this is Seth, my boyfriend.” They tilted their head in greeting. “Seth, these are our guests,” she explained. “Stefan, Vladimir and Valerian, better known as Dracula.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he scoffed, looking down at her. She shrugged and his eyes widened in surprise.

“We had the same reaction, don’t worry about it. Now, where are Leah and Jacob?”

“Waiting back at the tent, I’ve told them you were coming back and I warned them about our _guests_.”

“Then let’s go, I’ve missed my bed,” she sighed before they turned and made their way back to the tent.

When they reached their destination, they watched as Hermione set to altering the protection wards around the tent, waving her wand in intricate patterns and differently coloured glows and beams swirled around the tent until they disappeared and Hermione stepped back. They stepped into the tent, Hermione noticing the way the three vampires looked around in intrigue and before she could speak, a murderous looking Leah appeared before them, along with a slightly less looking murderous Jacob.

“Calm down, they’re not going to harm us. I may have altered the wards on the tent to allow them access, but the protection wards are still in place. Should they try to harm us, the magic in the wards will activate and burn them alive.”

Leah only looked to be slightly placated but the murderous look was still held on her face.

“Right, we’re all going to need sleep, everything will be explained in the morning and we’ll speak of what we learned and what our next steps are, trust me when I say, we’re all going to need our sleep. So, a quick introduction, Leah, Jacob, we have Stefan, Vladimir and Valerian, but you may know him as Dracula.”

Their eyes widened slightly and they gave stiff nods of greeting.

“Jacob, will you contact the pack and set up a meeting tomorrow morning?” He had his eyes trained on the three vampires stood behind her but he nodded. “Thank you, given the circumstances, Charlie, Jacob and Seth can share the spare bedroom and Leah can share with me.”

Seth made to protest but she shook her head and he sighed, resigning himself to the fact he’d have to go another night without having her by his side.

“I’ll conjure up another bed,” she said before stepping away from Seth and making her way to the spare bedroom, grabbing Jacob’s hand and pulling him after her as she went.

Hermione was able to transfigure two more beds out of the desk and chair that had been placed in the room, and with a little help from magic, had them all fitting in the small room. Jacob sighed and sat himself down on the edge of one of the beds and he lifted his eyes to her.

“You’re quiet,” he noted.

“I’m tired,” she shrugged. “I know you’re worried and that you don’t trust them, but trust _me_ , we need them.”

“Why?” He frowned.

She sighed before moving to sit beside him on the bed. “It’s not good news,” she told him.

She had planned on telling him with the others but she knew that Jacob should be told first. After all, Bella had once been his friend and the news would affect him in ways she couldn’t even imagine. He needed time to digest the truth.

“In fact, it’s terrifying. I don’t want to go into too much detail because the thought of it not only sickens me but it terrifies me, too.” He frowned and turned his body to face her. “Jacob, that _thing_ inside of Bella, it’s not a baby. It’s a monster.” His eyes widened. “And that’s not me being a vicious cow; that’s the exact word Dracula used to describe it. The child is not human or a vampire, but a demon from the pits of hell, that’s what he told me. The child will age quickly and within a few weeks, it can destroy a village, in a few months it can destroy a town. This child is stronger, faster and smarter than any vampire, and it took all thirty-three members of his coven to destroy it, and once it was over, only twelve remained. He witnessed it and only he, Stefan and Vladimir can destroy it. If the child is allowed to be born and to grow, it will be disastrous.”

“They’re going to have to destroy it whilst it’s still inside of Bella, aren’t they?”

“I don’t know, they won’t tell me. They wished to spare me the details of what it is they must do, but it’s likely. And if it’s the case, Bella may not survive.”

He took a deep breath and nodded slowly. “Thank you for telling me before the others,” he said quietly. “And it’s not your fault. She’s the one that got herself into this mess, you were only doing what I asked, to help us discover what we were dealing with and how to proceed. Whatever the outcome, it isn’t your fault.”

Hermione leaned closer to him and before she could blink, he had pulled her closer and wrapped himself around her in a tight hug. Knowing that he needed her comfort, she wrapped her arms around him in return and projected those feelings of calmness and comfort onto him, feeling him relax into her and sighing softly.

“I’ll get you something to help you sleep,” she told him quietly.

He nodded and released her from the hug and she quickly exited the bedroom, going into her potions lab. She searched her stores and sighed when she saw that she only had one Dreamless Sleep Potion left; she’d been so busy the last couple of weeks she hadn’t been able to spend time replenishing her stores. She had intended to take one herself as she was sure to have nightmares without Seth beside her and she didn’t wish to wake Leah. She was grumpy enough when she was fed and awake, she didn’t want to see what Leah would be like if she were woken during the early hours of the morning by her screams. She’d probably murder her with her bare hands.

Whilst she was in her potions lab, she quickly drank drown a Skele-Gro Potion to aid with healing her ribs and she lathered her bruises in Bruise Removal Paste before leaving the room and returning to Jacob. He took the potion from her gratefully and downed it before kissing her cheek in thanks and she left the room, running into Leah as she made her way to the bathroom, Charlie wasn’t far behind her and she rolled her eyes and smacked his arm as he walked past her and winked, following Leah into the bathroom.

Before she entered the living room, she bumped into Seth and he immediately pulled her into a hug and she melted against him.

“I don’t like being under the same roof as you and not being able to sleep beside you,” he spoke.

“Neither do I,” she agreed. “But it would hardly be fair to make Jacob share with us or with Leah and Charlie, and I can’t have him sleeping on the couch with our guests in the same room as him. The best option is to have you sharing with the boys and me sharing with Leah.”

“You’re not going to sleep well.”

“Probably not,” she nodded.

“I was referring to the fact Leah snores louder than a thunderstorm,” he said amused.

She laughed and shook her head. “I suppose I’ll have to place a Silencing Charm on her side of the bed then,” she replied and he laughed.

“You’ll need several,” he corrected.

“They’re so perfect for each other,” she commented and he raised an eyebrow. “Leah and Charlie,” she clarified. “She snores like a thunderstorm; Charlie snores like a chorus of roaring dragons.” He chuckled at her and she snuggled into him further and sighed. “We should get to bed, it’s getting late and we have to be up early in the morning.”

“I don’t like it,” he grouched.

She chuckled at him. “Neither do I, but after tomorrow everything will be over and we can return to La Push and the pack can repair the damage done and we’ll all be happy again. No more vampires, no more drama, no more fear.”

“You think?”

“I know,” she nodded.

He snorted. “Well, you are Hermione Granger and Hermione Granger knows everything,” he said amused.

She laughed at him. “Exactly. Now, get to bed and get some sleep.”

“You’re so bossy,” he muttered.

“You should be used to it by now,” she shrugged. “Now, get to bed,” she repeated before reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him goodnight.

He didn’t allow her to pull back, lifting a hand to the back of her neck to keep her against him. She sighed as he nibbled at her lip and his tongue swept through her parted lips to tangle and twine with hers. She gave a little squeak when his arms scooped her off her feet and she was forced to wrap her legs around his waist for balance before her back was pressed against the wall. She pulled back from him with a laugh, seeing him all but pouting at her.

“Nice try with the distraction, but we do need to sleep.”

“But I’ve missed you; we’ve been apart for too long.”

Her laughter died down and she smiled softly as she ran her hands through his hair, her nails scratching at his scalp lightly.

“We have and I’ve missed you, too,” she replied. “And when all of this is over, we can go back to how things were, things may even be better. If the pack can come back together, they’ll be stronger than ever. And once all of this is over, I might even be inclined to not argue with you if you wished to play the sick card and take a day off school so we can spend some time together.”

Both eyebrows shot up in surprise knowing how strongly she felt about him missing school and how much she valued education.

She shrugged. “I told you, I missed you, too.”

She allowed one of her hands to slip from his hair and slide down his neck, over his shoulder and down his chest until it rested over his heart, feeling the steady beat against her palm.

“I love you just as much as you love me, and just as you put me first in everything, I do the same for you. If I had to choose between Harry and you, no matter the pain it would cause me, I would choose you, every time. I hate being away from you, especially when I was in an entirely different continent.”

He moved his head to kiss her again and she sighed, protecting her feelings on to him and he sighed, too, pulling back from her to lock gazes with her.

“What am I supposed to do about this?” He asked, deliberately thrusting his hips against her and a gasp left her lips when she felt the bulge in his jeans.

She took a deep breath in order to regain her control so she wouldn’t just ravish him in the middle of the hallway where anyone could happen upon them,or hear them.

“Leah and Charlie are in the bathroom,” she spoke. He looked confused. “ _Together_.” He frowned. “With a Silencing Charm cast over the door.”

She laughed when a sudden grimace appeared on his face and he set her back on her feet, his face looking a little peaky.

“Night,” he mumbled, placing a quick kiss to her forehead before he headed to bed, a shiver of disgust running through his body as he did so.

She continued to chuckle as she made her way to the living room to make sure their guests were behaving. She entered the room and when she did, she noticed that they all looked far too innocent and she narrowed her eyes.

“What have you been up to?” She asked them.

“We have not done anything,” Dracula responded innocently.

She narrowed her eyes further. “My older twin brothers are thought as being the Pranking and Mischief Kings of Europe, that look you’re sporting doesn’t fool me,” she told him, seeing Stefan and Vladimir’s shaking as they laughed silently.

Her eyes darted about the room before landing on her bookcases and then things fell into place. They wouldn’t be able to get close due to the wards she’d placed around them whilst she’d been gone, not wanting Seth, Leah or Jacob to accidentally get hurt should they touch the wrong book. The three vampires had obviously tried to snoop through her library.

She kept her eyes on them as she removed her wand from her pocket and waved it in an arch motion, followed by a swirl and then a flick. The bookcase glowed blue and it visibly shook for a moment, the books rattling on the shelves.

“You now have access to my library if so wish to select a book that has caught your eye,” she spoke, taking amusement in their looks of surprise. “I would caution against choosing a book based on Fire Magics, dragons or that vibrates when you touch them. Magical books are not like muggle books, their photos and diagrams move, some make sound, some bite, and some can kill, be careful,” she warned.

Their looks of surprise stayed on their faces and she didn’t bother hiding her amusement. “I ask that you do not leave the safety of the tent. I have not yet given you the necklaces to protect against Edward, the mind reader, and even if I were to, there’s still the risk of you being seen or heard by them when wandering the woods or area. Feel free to make yourself comfortable for the time being.”

She turned her eyes away from them and to Benji who was perched on the back of the couch, eyeing the three vampires as though he wanted to eat them.

“Benji?” She called softly, noting the way the friendly dragon turned his head towards her but kept his eyes on the vampires. “It’s bedtime, are staying with Charlie or me?” The not so little dragon flew off the couch and over to her, hovering in front of her. “Come on then, it’s bedtime.”

She looked to the vampires, noticing the way their eyes flickered between her bookcase and her interacting with Benji in intrigue. She tipped her head in acknowledgement before turning and making her way out of the room towards her bedroom with Benji following behind her, chuckling to herself with she heard a hiss, followed by a curse coming from the living room.

She quickly stripped from her clothing and pulled on one of Seth’s t-shirts from the neatly folded pile of freshly washed laundry. As usual, the t-shirt buried her smaller frame but she didn’t mind, she might not be sleeping next to Seth but she’d be able to smell him on her t-shirt and on the bed covers.

She climbed into bed, deciding she would sleep on Seth’s side of the bed that night and she chuckled when Benji curled up in a ball at the end of the bed by her feet, his head watching the door for any trespassers.

Just as Hermione was dozing off, the door opened and both she and Benji looked up to see who it was. Benji laid his head back down when he saw it was Leah and she slipped into the room with damp hair and covered only by a towel.

With a flick of her wand the candles in the room lit and Leah jumped in surprise, but she didn’t look embarrassed by her current state of dress, or the fact that Hermione knew exactly what she and Charlie had been up to in her bathroom.

“Have a good shower?” Hermione asked innocently.

Leah snorted at her. “Yes, thanks, I haven’t had a shower like it in a while.”

Hermione sniggered at her and shook her head. “Your clothes are in the spare room, aren’t they?”

“Yeah,” Leah nodded with a sigh.

Hermione chuckled before throwing the covers off herself and climbing out of bed, going over to her wardrobe and digging around until she found what she was looking for, pulling out Charlie’s old Quidditch jersey that she used to sleep in.

Leah raised an eyebrow at her when she held it out to her, obviously seeing that it had Charlie’s name on it and that it was a sporting jersey of some sort.

“Every Weasley buy Percy was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team at school, I have several of my brothers’ jerseys, Charlie’s, Harry’s, Fred’s and George’s, they’re comfortable to sleep in and I think he might just appreciate you wearing this, so you can keep it, I’ve got another hidden somewhere.”

Leah’s lip twitched in amusement and she nodded her head in thanks, taking the item from her and then she looked down at herself. Hermione made a noise of understanding before going over to her chest of drawers and digging around for some underwear for Leah. Luckily, she still had a few knickers and bra sets that still had the tags on them and she removed a simple cotton one before resizing it a little so it would better fit Leah. She handed it over to Leah and then climbed back into bed, giving Leah some privacy.

When she felt the mattress dip and the covers shift, Hermione extinguished the flames and the room plunged into darkness and silence.

“Are you happy, Leah?” Hermione asked softly.

She had thought Leah was asleep as it took her a while to answer. “Yes, your brother makes me happy,” she admitted in a whisper.

Hermione felt a smile pull at her mouth. “So I don’t have to hex him?”

“Not yet,” Leah replied, sounding amused.

“I’m going to put a Silencing Charm around you; I don’t want to wake you with my nightmares.”

“They’re that bad?”

“Yes, they are,” she sighed. “They frighten Seth and I know he worries about me when he’s not with me.” Leah shifted in bed. “And I’m warning you now, I’m a cuddler, so if you wake up to me spooning you, it’s not my fault.”

Laughter fell from Leah’s mouth and Hermione felt a laugh of her own escape and she turned in the bed to face Leah.

“Yeah, I thought you might be, you’re almost as affectionate as Charlie,” she snorted.

“We like our cuddles, it’s not our fault,” Hermione defended.

Leah shook her head. “Night, Hermione,” she sighed.

A smile pulled at Hermione’s mouth. “Goodnight, Leah,” she replied, casting a Silencing Charm over the other woman

~000~000~000~

**Monday 25th September 2006**

It was the early hours of the morning when Hermione woke herself from her nightmares with a blood-curdling scream, panting, tears rolling down her face and sweat slicking at her skin.

Benji was watching her worriedly and she sighed before climbing out of bed and she scratched the dragon on the head before she snuck out of the room and headed into the bathroom. She stripped and jumped into the shower, washing away the sweat and bad memories before climbing out and drying off. She summoned another of Seth’s t-shirts as well as the silk robe Fleur had owled her for her birthday. She slipped the red silk on and tied a knot to keep it closed.

When she exited the bathroom, Seth was stood outside and waiting for her, dressed in nothing but his boxers. Her tired gaze locked on his worried one before she stepped into him and he wrapped her up in a hug.

“How’d you know?” She asked quietly, knowing Charlie would’ve put a Silencing Charm around the spare room out of habit.

“This is usually the time you’d wake up before I started staying with you,” he replied, placing a kiss to her forehead. “Are you okay?”

She nodded against him and sighed.

“Tea or hot chocolate?”

She smiled. “Hot chocolate,” she answered.

“With whipped cream, mini-marshmallows and a funky straw?” He asked. She nodded, her smile growing wider. “Do you have cramps?” He asked, knowing that was her go-to drink when it was her time of the month.

“No, luckily for you my period happened to be last week when I was away, but I do have a backache.”

“Come on, let’s get you your drink and I’ll give you a back rub.”

She sighed. “You truly are perfect.”

He snorted as he pulled back from her, taking her hand in his and dragging her towards the living room and over to the kitchen, deliberately ignoring the three vampires that were sat on the couch or armchair and that had looked up from their books as they entered, watching them carefully.

Seth placed his hands on her hips and lifted her onto the countertop before he pulled the fixings for hot chocolate from the cupboards with Hermione heating the milk for him so he didn’t have to waste time heating it up on the hob. He added plenty of whipped cream and mini-marshmallows and her favourite funky straw and handed the mug to her. She smiled at him softly before taking a sip from her mug, not caring when the hot liquid scalded her tongue. Seth chuckled at her and used his thumb to wipe away the cream on her upper lip.

She took another sip from her mug before putting it down beside her and wanting to be close to Seth, she pulled him into a hug. He stepped between her parted legs and wrapped his arms around her, his head buried in her neck and she rested her cheek on top of his head. His hands slipped down her back and under her robe and t-shirt and he pressed his fingers into the small of her back, doing his best to relieve the ache given his positioning. When Hermione sighed, he guessed it was working. No words were said between them as they didn’t need to be, they just needed each other. She could feel the stares on her but she ignored them.

Knowing they should head back to bed and try and get some sleep before their meeting with the pack, she reluctantly pulled back from Seth and knowing her as well as he did, he stepped back from her and helped her down from the counter.

She took her mug in hand and they walked away from the kitchen and towards the hallway and back to bed, only they didn’t make it. Hermione gasped, the mug fell from her hand and smashed against the fall and Seth caught her as she fell to the ground, tremors wracking her body.

Seth held her against him tightly and whispered into her ear as whimpers escaped her, and the three vampires had abandoned all pretences of reading their books and were now openly watching them with frowns. Hermione relaxed against Seth barely a minute later.

“Is it over?” He asked her softly.

She nodded. “It’s over,” she said quietly, her voice a little shaky.

Seth lifted her into his arms and moved over to the armchair, the look he gave Vladimir was murderous and the blonde took the hint and stood and moved aside. Seth placed Hermione on the armchair and retrieved her a glass of water from the kitchen and she took it from him as he crouched down in front of her, looking for any tell that another tremor was around the corner.

“I’m fine, Seth,” she said softly, lifting her hand to trail her fingertips across his cheek. He caught her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her palm, holding her hand in his. “But after that, I’m not going to be able to sleep.”

“You need your sleep, Hermione, I know you haven’t been sleeping since you left last week and we have a big day ahead of us in a few hours.”

“You and Jacob are still going to school, I know you don’t want to and that you want to be nearby should I need you, but I have both Charlie and Leah here, too.” He looked as though he wanted to argue before he sighed and nodded, knowing she wasn’t going to back down. “Maybe you should play sick tomorrow,” she suggested and his mouth twitched into a smile, remembering their conversation from earlier. “It’ll be more believable if you’re off on Tuesday, I’ll even forge a note as your doctor.” He laughed at her and shook his head. “You should get back to bed, I promise I’ll try and get some sleep, but I doubt I’ll be able to.”

“I could always kick Leah out of our room and she can stay with Charlie and Jake.”

“I’d never put Jacob through having to share a room with them, that’s just cruel,” she replied and he chuckled. “Besides, she’s perfectly comfortable and sleeping soundly, I wouldn’t want to be the one to wake her. She’ll probably kill you.”

Seth nodded in agreement. “Why don’t you take a potion to help you sleep?”

She sighed. “I gave the last Dreamless Sleep to Jacob, I told him everything and I didn’t want it plaguing his dreams. I haven’t had time to brew anymore, I’ve spent a week in another continent and the week before that doing nothing but research, I hadn’t realised how low my stores were.” He frowned. “Get some sleep, Seth. I’m a big witch; I can look after myself for a few hours. Just one more day and everything will be back to normal,” she promised.

He sighed before standing up and making his way back to the kitchen. She flicked her wand at the floor and banished the broken mug and the mess it had made, whilst he made her another hot chocolate, complete with whipped cream, mini-marshmallows and a funky straw. She took it gratefully and he kissed her on the forehead before sending the three vampires a look of warning as he left the room.

Hermione sighed as she sipped at the hot beverage and she flicked her wand, conjuring another armchair for Vladimir.

“Your interactions with him are unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Dracula remarked.

Hermione made herself more comfortable, pulling her legs up onto the armchair and summoning a blanket she had knitted herself a few years ago and draping it over her lap.

She shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you other than I am his mate.”

“Still, I have seen many vampires and their mates interact over the millennia’s I have lived and I have never seen anything quite like you.”

She sighed and leaned further back into the armchair, sipping at her drink and watching them over the rim of her mug.

“I love him, he loves me. I would die for him, kill for him and he would do the same. I cannot sleep unless he’s beside me as he keeps my nightmares and my memories of war away. I don’t feel completely safe or comfortable unless he’s nearby. I miss him when he’s gone, even if he’s in the kitchen making me a cup of tea and I’m in my potions lab down the hall. I am so dependent on him that I wouldn’t be able to survive without him. Not physically but emotionally and mentally.”

“In my experience, when a vampire loses their mate, they feel the loss, they feel the pain, but they carry on and they find another to fill that void,” Dracula said.

“That’s the difference, neither of us are vampires. I am a witch and Seth is a natural-born shape-shifter. Without betraying the secrets of his pack and Tribe, I am Seth’s lifeline. If anything were to happen to me he wouldn’t survive it. It’s the golden rule among the pack that no harm is to come to a mate of a pack member, as we are precious and the key to the happiness of our wolf. It’s a rare occurrence for a wolf to find their mate, I believe the last pack which was a few generations ago only had one wolf find their mate. He is everything I need and I am everything he needs. I will never look at anyone the way I look at him and he the same, and that is why you were unable to seduce me. Seth doesn’t just have my heart, he has all of me. He has my heart, my mind, my body, my magic, my life and my very soul. We may as well be one entity.”

The three vampires tilted their heads curiously.

“You are very intriguing,” Vladimir mused and Stefan nodded in agreement. “I think I’m glad we did not eat you for dinner.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not but I’ll take it,” she shrugged, earning snorts of amusement. “I’ve been referred to as a lot worse, I suppose.”

“What happened to you?” Stefan asked, his eyes darting to the floor where she’d collapsed.

“Side effect from fighting in a war and being exposed to so much dark magic for the better part of eight years. I suffer from many ailments that I didn’t use to and you’ve just witnessed one of them. Unfortunately, I get tremors in which my body acts as though I am being tortured again, the only relief I have if that it’s not as painful as I remember it being during my capture. My ailments are much easier to manage with me now having Seth.” She scrubbed her hand over her face and took another sip from her mug. “When disposing of the child, are you going to need the use of fire?”

Dracula blinked in surprise at the sudden change of topic.

“Yes, why?”

She shrugged. “Maybe I should be present then, I’m very good with Fire Magics, I’m known for my magical outbursts when I’m angry and Fire Magics is a lot stronger than regular fire, and as a secondary option, we have Benji. If this child is as difficult to destroy as you say it is, we may need him. Benji is a dragon and dragon fire is known to be very powerful, it’s said to be able to destroy the darkest of magical curses, much like fiendfyre. And also, it would be beneficial to have my magic on your side. I can place wards around an area to prevent anyone from getting in or out, I can knock Bella out long enough for you to do whatever you need to do, and I can be on standby with my magical healing.”

They eyed each other before turning to her and nodding slowly. “Very well, you have made a compelling argument and it would be in the best interests of everyone, if you were to be present at the time.”

“I know you wished to spare me witnessing the child’s destruction, but I’ve seen far worse things than what I imagine happening in the near future.”

She didn’t elaborate further despite their looks of curiosity. She drank the last of her hot chocolate before standing and moving to the kitchen, placing the mug in the sink. She then nodded to the three vampires and headed back to bed.

After an hour of being unable to sleep, she gave up and instead dressed for the day in a pair of black skinny jeans, black knee-length boots, a white t-shirt and a black cardigan. She slipped her wand into her boot before leaving her room and pulling her hair up into a ponytail, keeping it out of her face.

The three vampires watched her as she placed three necklaces identical to the one she wore on the coffee table.

“They’ll resize themselves once you’ve put them on,” she informed them, before making her way out of the tent and towards the Cullen house, making her way up the steps and walking through the door without knocking. As she stepped into the living room, only Rosalie and Jasper were present, which was perfect; just the two vampires she wanted to speak to.

They looked surprised to see her, not knowing she had returned from her trip and they both stood immediately, looking at her expectantly.

“Where are the others?” She asked.

“Bella’s asleep, Carlisle’s got the night shift at the hospital, Emmet convinced Edward to go hunting and Alice and Esme went for a run to Port Angeles,” Jasper answered. 

Hermione rolled her eyes good-naturedly before sitting down on the armchair.

“You look like crap,” Rosalie commented.

“Thanks,” Hermione snorted, rubbing a hand over her tired eyes.

“You haven’t been sleeping, have you?” Jasper said knowingly.

Hermione sighed and nodded. “I don’t sleep well without Seth and I’ve spent a week away from him. Charlie and I got back just after eleven o’clock. The boys are sharing a room as are me and Leah.” Jasper raised an eyebrow. “It would be cruel to have Jacob sharing a room with Charlie and Leah, and the same with me and Seth. And I couldn’t transfigure a bed from the couch given our guests.”

“ _Guests_?” They both questioned with identical frowns.

“We found the one we were looking for and they have agreed to help. We know everything.”

“And?” Jasper prompted, picking up on her emotions of fear, disgust, worry and hope.

“Can I trust you?” They both frowned at the question. “Can I trust you to do that right thing? If it comes down to it, I need to know if you’ll have my back or Edward’s.”

“The rumours you spoke of, they’re bad?”

“The worst they could possibly be and they’re not rumours, they’re true.”

Rosalie and Jasper shared a look before slowly nodding.

“Tell us,” Rosalie said.

Hermione took a deep breath before explaining everything she had learned as well as their guests who were going to take care of the situation, and when she finished, they both sat back in their seats with looks of horror and shock on their faces.

“It’s not a baby?” Rosalie whispered.

“No, it’s not. It’s a monster, his words not mine, and if a vampire is describing something as such then you know it’s not good,” Hermione said quietly.

Rosalie looked to Jasper and he nodded. “You can trust us, we are with you,” Jasper said. Hermione sighed in relief. “Alice and Emmet will also side with us. We should include Esme and Carlisle in this.”

“I don’t know if that’s a great idea,” she said worriedly.

“They may not agree but they will do what is right. If this child ‘s capable of such atrocities and at a very young age, they will side with us, they both value human life. It’s best we keep it from both Edward and Bella, it’ll be easier to deal with if we take them by surprise and not give them an option. You’re going to be present at the time?” Jasper spoke.

She nodded. “Yes, we’ve agreed my magic will be beneficial, the four of us will take care of the child. We need you to ensure Edward is kept detained. Bella may not survive. I’ll do what I can for her with my healing but the child must be destroyed no matter what.” They both nodded. “We’ve called a meeting with the pack for seven-thirty this morning. We’re going to inform them of what we’ve learned and tell them the plan and ensure they are as far away from this as possible, we need to be the ones to deal with this. If you can convince Carlisle and Esme to keep an open mind, then they may attend and I’ll also inform them of my status as a witch.”

“So this is it? It’s almost over?” Rosalie checked.

“By this time tomorrow, it’ll all be over.”


	54. Chapter 54

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 10

**Monday 25th September 2006**

“Jacob, you’re making dizzy,” Hermione grumbled, getting tired of watching him pacing back and forth for the last ten minutes. “I know you’re worried but it’s my job to take care of this and your job to focus on getting your homework in on time.” Jacob sighed and stopped in his pacing, turning to face her. “You have done your homework, haven’t you?” She said with narrowed eyes.

“Yes, mom,” he muttered, slipping his hands into his pockets and sending a glare to the gathered vampires that snorted at him.

“Just calm down, the pack will be here any minute, we’ll tell them what we know and I’ll make sure it’s all over by the time you’re home from school.”

“We’re here now,” a deep voice spoke up.

They all turned their heads and from the cover of the trees stepped out Sam and he was soon followed by Jared, Paul, Embry, Quil and the pups. Paul smiled at her and the pups beamed.

“Hermione!” They cried happily.

Hermione stepped out from beneath Seth’s arm that had been thrown over her shoulders, and she crossed through the barrier preventing the pack from going any further forward. The moment she did, she found herself being hugged by the pups tightly and she laughed at them.

“Merlin, boys! I think you’ve grown since the last time I saw you. Have you always been this tall?” She questioned, pulling back from them both and looking them up and down, seeing that they definitely looked taller than she remembered, but then again, she hadn’t seen them in over two weeks.

“You’re just tiny,” Brady shrugged.

“I can still kick your butt in a fight, wolf or not,” she replied, scowling at him for his words and he smiled at her sheepishly whilst the rest of the pack chuckled at them. They couldn’t deny that since the whole mess with Bella’s pregnancy began that they’d missed her.

“So, you know what we’re dealing with?” Sam asked, drawing her attention.

She turned her eyes to him and the smile dropped from her face and she nodded, of course, he didn’t miss her reaction.

“It’s not good,” she confirmed, leaving their sides and moving back over to Seth. He once more put his arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side.

Leah and Charlie were stood beside them in a similar position, Jacob moved to stand on her left, his body close to hers, seeking her presence and his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket. Rosalie stood off to the right with Emmet (who returned from his hunt early under the pretence of Rosalie having a fashion-related meltdown, which was more than believable so Edward didn’t suspect anything) sat beside her on a tree stump and Jasper and Alice stood beside them. Valerian, Stefan and Vladimir stood behind them, observing the pack quietly, and the pack were watching them with narrowed eyes once they’d noticed their presence.

“We’re just waiting on Carlisle and Esme,” Seth said.

“No need, we’re here now,” Esme’s soft voice flittered over to them as they approached, coming to a stop beside their ‘children.’

“Vladimir, Stefan?” Carlisle questioned, a look of surprise and confusion marring his features. It was as if he knew but he didn’t at the same time. “What are you doing here?”

“You know each other?” Hermione asked with an arched eyebrow.

“We’ve never actually met,” Vladimir answered, brushing his blonde hair back from his eyes and moving to clasp his hands behind his back, his red eyes watching Carlisle carefully. “But we know _of_ each other.”

“Will someone please explain what is happening?” Esme asked, her golden eyes being hidden from view briefly as she blinked in confusion.

“First, put these on,” Hermione said, removing two of her necklaces from her jacket pocket and throwing them to the two vampires, the objects easily being caught.

Their eyes darted about the others, seeing the pack, their children and the three older vampires all wearing similar-looking necklaces.

“Why? What are they?” Carlisle asked.

“I’ll tell you after you put them on,” she replied, and they reluctantly did so. “Thank you. Now, I’m sure you believe I am the reason Edward is unable to read the minds of your children and the pack and you would be right.”

“What are you?”

Hermione smiled. “Well done, Doctor, you’re finally asking the right question.” She removed her wand from her sleeve and shook it gently, bringing attention to it. “I’m a witch.”

Esme and Carlisle looked at each other, their eyes widening slightly.

“Well, that certainly explains a lot,” Esme said softly, her eyes moving to sweep over Hermione curiously, but a soft smile was held on her face. “The books you wouldn’t let us see, the strange treatments you were giving Bella, the secret conversations,” she listed.

“She’s _the_ Hermione Granger, from the Wizarding Wars,” Jasper informed them, his voice holding respect and understanding, after all, he was the only one that understood Hermione’s past on a more personal level with them both having been soldiers.

“Yes, well, that’s the past, we’re here to talk out the preservation of the future,” Hermione spoke, shuffling slightly on her feet uncomfortably. “The necklaces I’ve given you are something of my own creation and as long as you are wearing them, Edward will not be able to read your thoughts. I’ve given you your privacy back. Since you know who Stefan and Vladimir are, allow me to introduce you to Valerian, you may know him as Dracula.”

Several snorts sounded and she turned her head towards the pack.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Hermione,” Jared said, folding his arms over his chest and leaning casually against a tree.

“Afraid not, no. He’s the one we were looking for and he didn’t make it easy either,” she said, sending an annoyed look to the vampire in question and he shrugged his shoulders, not being the slightest bit apologetic. “He knows what we’re dealing with because he’s seen it happen before, and he knows what needs to be done.” She turned her eyes to the vampire parents. “Rosalie and Jasper have both assured me that you’re trustworthy and that you’d do the right thing.”

“We always try to do the right thing,” Carlisle confirmed.

“Even if it means you risk losing your son, but in doing so you will save thousands of lives?”

“Is it that bad?” Esme asked, a worried look on her kind face.

“It is, but I don’t expect you to take my word for it or Valerian’s for that matter, for that reason I’m going to extract his memories, so that you all may see what it is we’re dealing with, and afterwards we’ll tell you the plan of action. Hopefully, we can have this dealt with before Edward returns from his hunting trip.”

~000~000~000~

“I’m fine, Pups, honestly,” Hermione said softly, sitting on the ground with two large wolves sat on either side of her, pressed up against her sides with little whimpers leaving them as she ran her hands through their fur, scratching their heads and behind their ears.

She looked up from the youngest wolves and her eyes searched her surroundings, there wasn’t a sound to be heard and only horrified, frightened expressions could be seen on the faces of the vampires, wolves and her brother. The poor pups, Collin and Brady, had phased out of fear and anger that she’d been near Bella, after all, they were very protective of her. She felt bile in the back of her throat and forced it back down, the imagery of what she’d just witnessed being truly so awful, that it even made her nauseous despite what she’d witnessed and experienced during the war.

It truly _was_ a monster and now they all had proof and they’d all seen it with their own eyes. They’d all witnessed the massacre caused by a single being, they’d all seen the blood and death, heard the screams and cries of terror and panic, and none of them would forget it as long as they lived. Hermione wasn’t even sure she’d be able to fully remove the memory of witnessing such a heinous sight without doing some damage to the brain, so it made no difference.

“I can’t believe you let her stay in a house that has that _thing_ inside of it!” Paul finally snapped, a murderously look held on his face and looking as though he were about to charge at Seth but Jared and Sam grabbed him by the arms before he could.

“Enough, Paul,” Hermione spoke, her voice strangely calm given what she’d just witnessed, and all eyes turned to her, pulling everyone out of their own thoughts. “He didn’t know, none of us did until this point. I’m his imprint, he would never intentionally put me in harm’s way, as you now understand as you have an imprint yourself,” she said, sending him a less than pleased look and he at least had the grace to look a little apologetic. She sighed and closed her eyes, allowing her to gather her thoughts before turning to look at the Cullens, a questioning look on her face.

“I can’t believe that _thing_ isn’t a baby,” Rosalie muttered, her eyes darting across the ground and following a stray leaf as it was blown across the floor by a sudden gust of wind. “I didn’t think you were lying to us, after all, you haven’t yet and although I agreed to help, I didn’t want to believe it and I was hoping that you were wrong. But you’re not. It _is_ a monster and it needs to be destroyed.”

In a show of uncharacteristic vulnerability, she wrapped her arms around her middle and hunched over slightly and Emmet stood from the tree stump and wrapped her up in his arms, muttering words into the blonde’s ear that Hermione couldn’t hear or understand.

“What do you need us to do?” Carlisle asked and Hermione turned her eyes to him, unable to hide the exhaustion, worry and fear from his searching gaze.

“I need you to keep Edward away from us for as long as possible as I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” she replied. “I’m going to put a series of barriers around the room but I won’t be able to use strong ones as I can’t risk weakening my magic without having enough time for it to recharge. I need to be at my full strength for this. Valerian, Stefan, Vladimir and myself will be the ones inside the room with Bella and we’ll take care of this.”

“Maybe I should be with you should something go wrong with Bella,” Carlisle suggested.

Hermione frowned slightly. “I have magical healing at my disposal, but saying that, I’m not a qualified Healer, so anything I can’t do you may be able to,” she said. “Alright, you can be in the room with us, but you need to remain out of the way, I have backup and I don’t want you accidentally getting caught in the crossfire.”

“Backup?” Jasper said, looking intrigued.

“Backup,” she confirmed. She patted the pups on the head and then stood and crossed through the barriers once more, Seth immediately pulling her into him and wrapping himself around her protectively. “Benji!” Hermione called.

It was quiet for a few moments before a roaring was heard, a cloud of smoke was seen pouring from the trees and Benji came flying into the area, circling over their heads and swooping down until he landed on the floor in front of her, rubbing his head against her thigh and his tail curved around her body protectively as she petted the not-so-little-but-not-so-big dragon on the head.

“Oh My God! It’s a dragon!” Emmet suddenly exclaimed with a look of pure, child-like joy on his face as he all but bounced on the spot. He made to move forward but Benji’s head snapped to the large vampire and he let out a roar of warning, stilling him in his steps.

“I wouldn’t do that, he’s very protective of me, just ask them,” she said, pointing to the three eldest vampires present.

“She was there when he hatched from his egg, he thinks she’s his mum,” Charlie spoke amusedly and not bothering to hide it either when she scowled at him.

“Anyway, Benji’s my backup. I’m pretty sure my wards will keep Edward out of the room, it’s afterwards that will be the problem. Jacob and Seth are going to school, and I want you far away from this,” she said, turning head to look at the pack. “If he realises you’re nearby and something should go wrong, I don’t want him blaming the pack and coming after any of you or going near your land and breaking the treaty. There’s more than enough of us here to contain him should we need to.”

“There’s not a chance in hell we’re letting you do this alone,” Sam said, crossing his arms over his chest and glowering at her.

She huffed and put her hands on her hips, her foot beginning to tap away on the ground and a look of annoyance crossing her face. No one was blind to the way the pack seemed to take a small step back, all of them being far too aware of what came next.

“And there’s not a chance in hell I’m putting any of you in danger, from Edward or the bloody thing we’re about to destroy. You need to be as far away from here as possible and I’m no longer bound by a vow to not harm you, as you’re more than aware I can hex you all now without repercussions and I won’t hesitate to do so. The moment we’re sure everything has been taken care of and we’re no longer in danger of letting a ramping monster loose in the world, I’ll let you know. Do I make myself clear?”

“But...”

“Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” mutters rang out from the pack and the vampires sniggered, until Hermione sent them a glare and it quickly stopped. “Good, go about your day as normal, go to work and school, and let us handle this. It’s time we finally put an end to this bloody mess.”

~000~000~000~

“Are we ready?” Hermione asked no one in particular as she stood at the bottom of the staircase, looking at a single point on the wall to focus herself and her magic.

“We know the plan, we’ll keep him away from you,” Jasper nodded.

“You better hurry, he’s on his way back now, he’ll be here in less than six minutes,” Alice tinkling voice rang out.

“I’ll ward the windows, too, just to be sure, and someone should keep an eye on the barriers around the house, the pack can’t get in but Edward can get out and go to them if he wishes to.”

“Relax, ‘Mione,” Charlie piped up. “Leah and I will be patrolling the barrier lines with Rosalie, Alice and Esme. Jasper and Emmet will stay in the house, Jacob and Seth are safe at school and the pack’s back on their land. You’ve got Benji and four vampires older than everyone here combined, everything will go to plan.”

“Nothing ever goes to plan, take it from someone that knows,” she grumbled.

He snorted at her. “Well, you’re not with the Boy Wonder or my idiot little brother, so you’ve got nothing to derail your brilliant plan,” he shrugged. “Now, stop stalling and get up there.”

“Fine,” she muttered. “Wish me luck.”

“You’re Hermione Granger, you don’t need luck,” he smiled before gently nudging her in the side with his elbow as he walked past her, leaving out the room with Leah, Alice, Rosalie and Esme giving her strained smiles and following after the redheaded Dragon Keeper.

Hermione took a final calming breath before she ascended the stairs, absentmindedly making her way to Bella’s room as she ran through her mind the plan of action, searching for anything that may go wrong that she hadn’t already accounted for. Before she knew it, she had placed the wards around the room and she, the four vampires and Benji entered the room.

As was expected, Bella had been sleeping a lot the last few days and even with Hermione’s potions and her large stomach, she looked like skin and bones. She didn’t wake with their quiet entrance and Hermione quickly made her way over to the bed Bella was laid in the centre of and she cast a Knock Out Charm over her to ensure she didn’t wake during what was about to take place.

With a flick of her wand, the covers were pulled back from Bella and she was levitated off the mattress and over to the examining table that was in the room and surrounded with medical equipment. Bella was slowly lowered until she laid flat on her back and Hermione turned her attention to casting the wards over the windows, briefly catching sight of the large wolf stood beside Charlie. They saw her and looked up at her, giving her nods before they disappeared into the trees.

“None of my medical tools will penetrate her skin,” Carlisle spoke.

She turned from the window and walked over to the gathered group, the three older vampires taking in Bella’s form with the expressions of disgust they were unable to hide. She petted Benji on the head as she passed him and instructed him to perch himself on the bed and not to move until she needed him, and he obediently listened, but the way his eyes were glued to the vampires in the room showed his unease.

When she stopped beside them, putting herself between Stefan and Vladimir, she removed her beaded bag from her pocket and from within she summoned the dagger Charlie had given her earlier that morning. The silver of the blade shined in the single beam of sunlight that shone in through the windows, the handle was wrapped in dragonhide and a small dragon’s head carving sat atop the handle.

“This should do it,” she spoke, resting the dagger in the palm of her hand for everyone to see. “It’s dragon blood _and_ fire-forged, in the hands of the wrong people this can cause some serious damage. This is technically an illegal magical artefact but Charlie never did care for the rules and he got it when he captured a poacher trying to break through the wards on the dragon reserve. Knowing how rare they are and them being known for their invincibility, he kept it. Luckily for us, he always carries it with him and he gave it to me this morning, thinking it would come in handy.”

“It will be able to penetrate the skin?” Carlisle clarified.

“Should do,” she nodded. “Dragon fire and blood are very powerful and seeing as dragons can easily kill a vampire, the blood and fire used to make this dagger will easily be able to cut through the skin.”

She allowed him to remove it from the palm of her hand and his eyes darted across the passive faces of the other three vampires before they fell to down to Bella. The three older vampires turned their red eyes to her, silently instructing her to step away and she knew why. They were still insistent that they keep her as far away from the situation as possible and they didn’t want her witnessing what was about to happen. She wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or touched.

Reluctantly, she stepped back, moving to stand beside the bed and Benji moved closer to her, wrapping his tail around her protectively and a puff of smoke left his nostrils as he huffed out a large breath. With her wand held tightly in her hand and ready for anything that might happen, the four vampires moved in closer trying to block her view, but she was still able to see if she stood on her tiptoes and leaned to the left slightly.

She felt herself flinch when Carlisle pressed the tip of the dagger against Bella’s stomach and a drop of blood appeared slowly running down her skin, reminding her all too well of her own experience with a knife similar to the dagger.

The four vampires looked surprised at how sharp the blade was given that Carlisle hadn’t even tried to make an incision, he’d simply touched the blade to the skin gently. They heard noises from below them; furniture being broken, glass shattering, snarls and they felt the house shake as the sound of someone being thrown through a wall was heard.

Edward was back.

With a nod from Valerian and a steady hand, Carlisle cut into Bella’s stomach and Hermione closed her eyes against the sight of blood.

It was quiet for several long, drawn-out moments until she felt a spike of fear shoot through her when she heard it, the sounds piercing the silence and ringing out through the house. It wasn’t crying as she’d expected, it was a series of feral growls and snarls, further proving the point that it wasn’t a baby.

The three older vampires stepped away from Bella and over to the other side of the room, and when they did, she caught sight of a struggling, snarling figure being held between them as they tried to contain it.

Hermione didn’t understand how but what should’ve looked like a newborn baby, didn’t. In fact, from the brief glimpse she’d seen, she would say the baby looked to be several months old, and it had large, glowing red eyes that she knew would haunt her dreams.

With the three vampires handling the situation with the human-vampire-baby-monster-thing, Hermione rushed over to the examination table and called for Benji to follow after her. He hovered beside her protectively, his eyes on the vampires and his wings flapping as he kept himself at Hermione’s height.

Carlisle had retrieved some gauze and cloth and was pressing it to Bella’s now open and empty stomach, trying to stem the bleeding whilst Hermione summoned healing potion after potion from her beaded bag, placing them on the table as quickly as she could and lining them up in the order they needed to be used in.

She picked up the first vial and placed several drops onto the open cut after instructing Carlisle to remove the cloth and gauze. A hissing sound mingled in with the snarls and growls in the room as Carlisle stared in wonder as Bella's stomach was slowly but surely knitting itself back together, but Hermione knew it would take at least five minutes for the wound to close up and several days afterwards for it to heal completely.

She cleaned away the blood to better see the wound and then she grabbed some Essence of Murtlap and slathered Bella’s stomach it in, turning her skin a strange greenish-yellow colour. She had Carlisle put pressure on the slowly sealing wound to stop any more blood loss and she poured a Blood Replenishing Potion down Bella’s throat.

Not liking the waxy feel to Bella’s skin, the sickly colour to her face or the fact she could barely see Bella’s chest rising and falling, she lifted her wand and ran a series of diagnostic tests, not liking the results she saw.

“Carlisle, I can’t save her,” she spoke, doing her best to ignore the snarling, sounds of a struggle and the curse of profanities in other languages coming from another part of the room. “The wound’s going to heal and I’ve given her a magical blood transfusion, but from the tests I’ve just ran, she never would’ve survived even if we’d allowed her to give birth naturally and this was an actual baby and not a monster. The thing inside of her has literally been killing her from the inside out, the reason it’s been growing so fast is that it’s sucked her life force out of her, as well as all the fat and muscle from her body. It’s why she’s so weak and she’s gotten so many broken ribs and failing organs that I wouldn’t even know where to start. Even with magical healing done by a professional, I can’t save her. The _thing’s_ killed her.”

A stricken look crossed his face and he flinched when another snarl was heard, followed by a chair breaking. Both of them were doing a good job of not looking at what was happening and keeping their attention on Bella.

“If you don’t want Edward to lose her, there’s only one option available.”

“The treaty,” he said.

“Jacob has the power to grant you permission and I know he would if he were here, as it is, he’s already told me he gave Edward permission to turn Bella if it meant saving her life. There’s nothing either of us can do and I gave her the best chance possible, I estimate her to have minutes left before she’s gone for good. You have a decision to make, and you don’t have a lot of time to do it.”

He closed his eyes, collecting his thoughts before he nodded and Hermione turned her head away as Carlisle picked up Bella’s wrist and bit into it, the venom entering her system and starting the transformation from human to vampire.

When Hermione had turned her head, she’d accidentally caught sight of what the three vampires were up against and another spike of fear shot through her. She didn’t know how it was possible, she wasn’t even certain that she wasn’t hallucinating, but what she saw frightened her more than anything she had ever faced in her life. The baby was no longer a baby, but a toddler.

It snarled and growled and hissed, it kicked out with its legs and hit out with its hands as it sunk its teeth into the arm of Stefan and he let out a curse of surprise. Now she understood why Valerian hadn’t wanted her to be present, she understood what he’d wanted to protect her from.

There were three of them and they weren’t losing, but they weren’t winning either. Hermione gripped her wand in her hand tightly and she took a deep breath, centring herself and grounding her magic. She allowed her mind to fill with thoughts of the ones she loved, of Seth and the pack and her family, them being the ones she had to protect from the monster that would threaten their existence if it wasn’t stopped.

She pushed herself away from the table and took several steps in the direction of the struggle which was happening by the door, and she felt the air around her being disturbed as Benji flew after her.

“Get out of the way and stay out of the way,” Hermione instructed.

Her words drew Valerian’s attention and he glanced at her so quickly she hadn’t seen it happen, but he must’ve seen something in her expressions because before she could blink, the three vampires were stood behind her, their clothing tussled and torn, their hands and arms held bite marks and they were stood in a defensive position ready for an attack.

Without a thought for what she was about to do and not sparing a glance to the feral toddler in the corner of the room, she lifted her wand and cast as the toddler launched itself off its feet and towards her, obviously picking up on her accelerated heartbeat and pulse and realising she had blood running through her body.

“ _Fiendfyre_ ,” she whispered.

The demon-possessed flames burst from the tip of her wand, catching the toddler mid-air and a thud was heard as it landed on the floor, snarls and hisses and growls filling the room as the angry, hot flames happily ate away at its offering. Hermione focused her attention on keeping the wild, dark fire contained to one area in particular, not wishing to set the house on fire or hurt anyone else other than her intended target.

She could feel the surprise and wonder and curiosity from the other vampires in the room as they watched her Fire Magics at work, but she paid them no mind.

“Fire alone won’t destroy it, it’s too strong. It needs to be torn apart and the limbs burned so they can’t reassemble,” Valerian spoke from behind her.

“Benji,” Hermione spoke, her voice a little breathless and sweat began to bead across her forehead as she brought both hands up to grip her wand, trying to stop her wand arm from shaking as the exhaustion of controlling such magics began to set in. She wouldn’t be able to hold it for much longer. “I need your help,” she said.

Benji gave a roar and flew over her head, breathing fire of his own into the already flaming pit before he disappeared into the flames, the demon fire concealing him from view.

“He’ll be fine, dragons aren’t susceptible to Fire Magics, they’re all but invincible,” she panted, her arms beginning to ache and her knees starling to wobble.

Roars mixed in with snarls and the sound of tearing broke through the flames as Hermione collapsed to her knees on the ground, her chest beginning to tighten as she struggled to breathe and her eyes started watering and filling with tears. She couldn’t stop until they were sure it was destroyed.

Panic set in that she wouldn’t be able to see it through and she felt her eyes beginning to droop tiredly, her head went dizzy as the flames devoured all the oxygen in the room and her vision went blurry. She took a final intake of oxygen and held her breath; she couldn’t pass out, not yet.

A roar sounded and flames shot out towards them and Hermione felt relief fill her when Benji flew out of the flames and circled the room above their heads, and Hermione used the last of her strength to pull the fire back into her wand until it was gone and all that was left was a pile of ash, black smoke, a charred floor and charred walls.

They’d done it.

They’d destroyed it.


	55. Chapter 55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 16

**Monday 25th September 2006**

Hermione gasped loudly and her wand fell from her hand, clattered to the ground and rolled across the floor as she fell forward, barely catching herself on her hands before she face-planted the floor.

In her blurry vision, a figure appeared kneeling in front of her and she felt something being placed over her face, covering her mouth and nose until she felt her lungs no longer hurting and she could breathe easy once more. Slowly, the dizziness left her head and her vision cleared to reveal Carlisle kneeling before her and holding an oxygen mask to her face with a worried expression.

She weakly lifted her hand and gave a little wave, showing him she was fine and a smile pulled at his mouth. He pulled the mask away from her and she bowed her head, closing her eyes as a little laugh of relief left her.

"You had me worried for a moment," Carlisle admitted.

"You and me both," she replied, still a little breathless and she moved until she sprawled out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "Though that oxygen mask would've been very useful five minutes ago."

"Warrior Witch indeed," she heard Vladimir mutter and she turned her head to look at the three vampires looking down at her with various expressions on their faces.

"Sorry to say, I grew impatient and you were taking too long," she replied and they snorted at her.

"I am glad we did not eat you," Stefan decided.

She laughed. "I'm sure you've already said that to me, but I appreciate it all the same." She turned her head to the right when Benji settled down beside her, lowering his head to brush her forehead with his snout and she weakly lifted her hand to pet his head. "Thank you, Benji, you did wonderfully and I'll make sure Charlie gives you a full scale scrub and rub." Benji let out a purring sound in response.

She managed to sit up with a little help from Carlisle and she picked up her wand and raised it in the air, muttering under her breath.

" _Expecto Patronum_ ,"

She expected to see the little otter she'd grown to love but instead, a large silver-blue wolf burst from the tip of her wand, and despite her surprise, a smile pulled at her mouth upon noticing it looked a lot like Seth.

She shook her head of her thoughts. "It's over, the situation has been dealt with and we're all safer for it," she spoke, sending the large wolf off to Charlie in the woods, knowing he'd return to the house when he received it.

She then brought her hand up to necklace and gripped it tightly.

_'Seth?'_

_'Hermione!'_ Seth thought loudly and she mentally winced at the shout.

 _'Everything's fine,'_ she thought. _'It's all over now. We killed it, it wasn't easy but we did it.'_

 _'Thank God, and it's not even lunch yet, you work fast.'_ She laughed at him. _'I was so worried about you.'_

_'There's no need to worry, just focus on your English test this afternoon, and I'll see you soon.'_

She removed her hand from her necklace and with some help from Carlisle, she was standing on her feet. She looked to the door and sighed, knowing that they now had to deal with Edward.

She flicked her wand and the door flew open, revealing a murderous looking Edward and he lunged for her the moment he saw her, only she hadn't removed the wards from the room yet and he bounced right off the barriers. She heard a booming laugh and Emmet peeked his head into view, giving her a grin. Aside from his clothing being rumpled and torn and his hair being ruffled, he looked fine.

"That was awesome," he grinned.

She rolled her eyes at him and took a step towards the door, almost collapsing when her legs gave way but Carlisle caught her and supported her weight.

"I'm fine, Feindfyre isn't known for being an easy form of magic to cast or control and it's drained my magical core, I'll be fine after some rest," she told him.

Edward appeared in the doorway once more, only this time he was being restrained by Jasper and Emmet, his red eyes focused on her and his suspected insults being said so fast all she could hear was a buzzing sound.

"Oh, grow the hell up," Hermione snapped tiredly, wincing as a sudden headache made an appearance and she brought a hand up to her head. "Are you going to let me explain or not?"

Emmet and Jasper were able to get Edward onto his knees and Carlisle helped her closer to Edward and she kneeled on the ground in front of him but was still protected by the wards.

"I'm going to let you read my mind."

That certainly got his attention and his snarls and quickly spoken insults stopped immediately and with her eyes locked on his, she gave him access to her mind. After not even a minute his eyes widened and a disgusted look crossed his face.

"Exactly," she said, slamming her shields back into place and feeling happy and vindictive when he winced as he was thrown out of her mind. "I'm a witch, and you created a monster that killed your wife and would've wiped out the entire population of the State if we hadn't destroyed it. Your stupid wife if the reason millions of people could've died. The _thing_ inside of her wasn't a baby but a monster as you just witnessed, and we made sure to fix your mistakes. Despite my efforts to save her, Bella was too badly injured by the monster she called a baby and Carlisle was forced to bite her. She's going through the transformation but she shouldn't feel anything as she was under the influence of my magic at the time. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to rest and recharge my magic before I put myself into a magical coma."

Carlisle helped her to stand and with a flick of her wand, the barriers around the room vanished and she nodded to Jasper and Emmet to let Edward go. He glared at her and she didn't receive a single thank you for all she'd done for Bella over the weeks, but she didn't expect one. Even if she had saved his family, there would never be any feelings lost between them. They hated each other and she was fine with it; he was an arsehole.

Jasper gave her a nod and Emmet grinned and made to hug her, but Carlisle held him back so he wouldn't accidentally hurt her and then he helped her down the stairs.

"There she is, the witch of the hour," Charlie grinned at her from his place perched on the edge of the broken coffee table.

She gave him a smile and sat took a seat on the broken armchair, her eyes tiredly darting about the destroyed room.

"I'll take care of it," he said, flicking his wand to the different pieces of furniture and the broken windows until everything was repaired and there wasn't a single sign of anything having happened that day.

"Thanks, I'm too tired to cast any more magic for the day."

"You need to rest. You cast Fiendfyre, didn't you? You were the one to destroy it."

"How'd you know?" She asked.

"Benji's scales are looking a little sooty and that only happens around Feindfyre, and, I saw the smoke coming from the house and when I got here I could feel the leftover magical residue from the Fire Magics," he explained.

"Well, speaking of scales, I promised Benji you'd give him a scrub and rub, he deserves it; I wouldn't have been able to do it without him."

Charlie smiled at her and then stood and crossed over to her. "Come on then, let's get you to bed before you pass out on the spot," he said, helping her to stand.

"Thank you," Esme said gratefully, entering into the house with Rosalie and Alice behind her, and Leah was a few steps behind them.

"You're welcome," Hermione smiled tiredly. "I'd love to talk more but if I don't get some sleep I'll put myself in a magical coma, so we'll talk later."

She received smiles and nods before she, Charlie and Leah left the house, slowly making their way towards the tent.

"I did what I could for Bella but she had broken ribs and failing organs even before we got the _thing_ out of her. I was able to heal the wound but her injuries were too extensive, Carlisle bit her."

"Sam won't be happy," Leah sighed.

"It doesn't matter, he had Jacob's permission to do so, but once she's gone through her transformation, they'll have to leave so Charlie doesn't find out, they're telling him she died."

"Never mind, he'll be fine with it," she corrected and they snorted at her.

"Would you mind telling him and the pack what happened?"

"Sure, I'll be back soon," Leah replied, phasing into her wolf right in front of them and running off into the distance.

"I think I love her," Charlie said once Leah was out of earshot.

"What!?" Hermione questioned in surprise and they both ducked down as they entered the tent, Charlie leading her to her bedroom.

"I'm surprised, too," he admitted, giving her an amused smile. "I think she's the one, 'Mione."

Hermione blinked dumbly. "Are you being serious?"

"For the first time in my life, I'm being serious," he nodded. "I can see myself with her in the future, and I want little ginger pups running about and destroying the place," he said, helping her to get herself comfortable in bed and transfiguring her clothes into pyjamas for her.

"Merlin," Hermione whispered. "Are you feeling alright?" She lifted her hand and pressed the back of it to his forehead and then to his cheek, gauging his temperature.

He chuckled at her and pulled her hand away from his face. "I'm fine," he promised. "And I'm not going to hurt Leah, the last couple of days I've been here, I've realised how much I miss her when I'm at the reserve. I never had that with any of my previous relationships even if we aren't together all that much. I honestly think she's the one."

"Bloody hell," she muttered.

He laughed at her. "I'm as surprised by this as anyone, so don't be letting it slip. If any of our idiot siblings find out, I'll never hear the end of it and if mum catches wind, she'll start planning a bloody wedding."

"Know the feeling," she replied, lying down and getting herself comfortable under the blanket.

"Which is why I told you, because I know you understand. Anyway, enough talk about my sudden emerging feelings, you get some sleep and if there's anything you need just give me a shout."

"Thanks, Charlie," she said, trying to stifle a yawn.

He walked over to the door and chuckled, shaking his head when Benji flew past him and settled himself on the end of Hermione's bed, curling himself up into a ball and letting out a little puff of smoke as the friendly dragon yawned widely.

"I'm proud of you, Hermione, and I had no doubt you'd be able to handle this. You're the strongest person I know and thanks to you, thousands of lives have been saved, and I have no doubt the rift between the pack will be a thing of the past. Things like this only make the bonds between packmates stronger."

"I hope so; I hate the trouble this has caused with the pack."

"You'll see I'm right, everything will be fine, trust me," he said, pulling the door closed. "By the way, nice Patronus."

Hermione felt a smile pull at her mouth as she fell asleep, and this time, without Seth and the use of a Dreamless Sleep Potion, she slept peacefully.

~000~000~000~

Hermione stood by her car she'd easily found in the car park of the school and her eyes searched her surroundings, watching for Seth appearing out of the large doors after the bell had gone to signal the end of the school day.

A smile lit her face when she caught sight of him quickly making his way through the crowd of students and she met him halfway, getting wrapped up in his arms the moment he was close enough to pull her into him.

"I promise, I'm fine," she said, standing up on her tiptoes and running a hand through his hair, lightly scratching at his scalp in a way that offered him comfort and assurance. "I'm not going to say it went to plan because nothing rarely does, but I'm injury-free."

He pulled his head away from being buried in her neck and his eyes searched her face, seeing that the exhaustion and anxiety he was used to seeing on her face over the last couple of weeks was gone, and it had been replaced by a bright smile and sparkling eyes, showcasing her happiness.

"I can't believe it's over," he said, lifting his hand to push her hair back out of her face and behind her ear.

"Well, it is, thankfully, and we'll be able to go home in a few days."

"Why the wait?" He asked.

"We need to hold talks with the pack and ensure that everything is forgiven and the slate is wiped clean. It'll take a little time for the pack to go back to how we once were, but I'm confident it will and we'll get through this and be back together soon enough. But we need to stay with the Cullens."

"Why?" A second voice sounded and she pulled back from Seth to see Jacob approaching.

She smiled at him and pulled him into a hug, feeling the tension and worry draining from him the moment he felt her presence.

"I was unable to help Bella," she said quietly, pulling back from him to see his reaction but she kept a hold of his hand, and Seth stepped closer to her, throwing his arm over her shoulders and pulling her into his side.

"Meaning?" Jacob said.

"I did what I could for her, but the thing inside of her was killing her, even before we managed to get it out of her and destroy it. I was able to heal the wound we made and I gave her a blood transfusion, but she had too many broken ribs and her organs were failing. I couldn't save her."

"She's dead?" He asked quietly.

"That depends on your definition of dead," she replied.

He closed his eyes and his grip on her hand tightened as he caught onto her meaning. Bella had been turned. He truly had lost his best friend; it would be a lot easier for him if she had just died. He took a deep breath and nodded to himself, accepting the situation for it was and that there was nothing he could do about it.

"Well, the Bella I knew died a long time ago."

Hermione gave him a sad, apologetic smile. "She's going through the change now and I want to stay close by in case she does something as a newborn. We don't know the effect the thing had on her or her psyche so she may be more dangerous than usual. As it is, the Cullens have asked that I stay, wishing for my help should they need it before they can get her away from Forks. They've already started making arrangements for moving."

"Good," he muttered.

She squeezed his hand and a smile pulled at her mouth when she caught sight of two familiar shape-shifters watching them a little ways down.

"I think it's time for you to make amends with your pack," she said. Jacob looked confused so she nodded to a point over his shoulder and he turned his head to follow her line of sight, a smile pulling at his mouth. "Go on then, I'm sure you're just dying to have some fun with them and Merlin knows you deserve it."

"You just don't want me coming back to the tent," he replied knowingly.

She shrugged her shoulders, seeing no point in denying it. "I did make a promise," she replied and a grin appearing on Seth's face had Jacob grimacing.

"For God's Sake, use a Silencing Charm," he muttered before stepping away and making his way over to his best friends, leaving them alone.

"So, shall we..." Hermione didn't get to finish her sentence as Seth grabbed her by the hand and dragged her over to the car eagerly.

~000~000~000~

**Thursday 28th September 2006**

It had been three days since the destruction of the monster-baby and things had calmed considerably.

Charlie and Leah had barely left the bedroom, Jacob was far more relaxed and smiling and laughing again, she and Seth were perfectly happy and they'd even grown used to their three vampire guests who had yet to leave, and she didn't know why, but she'd be lying if she said she hadn't become fond of them, even if they found enjoyment in winding her up to the point where she'd actually thrown a hex at Vladimir, which hadn't deterred the three older vampires from their taunting in the least.

Emmet had taken to following her in the woods whenever Benji was with her, wanting to get closer to the protective dragon but never being able to since he always tried to set the large vampire on fire, which didn't deter him in the least, it actually had the opposite effect. Jasper was always a few steps behind them, watching the situation silently amused.

Hermione had allowed the Cullens access to her tent, but it seemed Rosalie and Jasper were the ones that came over most often, Rosalie being interested in the Beauty and Fashion Charms she knew, and Jasper wishing to have access to her library. He spent more time sat on her couch reading then he did with his own family. Carlisle and Esme had made a few appearances, Esme wishing to see the magic of the tent and Carlisle wanting to talk about the advances in magical healing compared to muggle medicine.

She hadn't seen or heard a single sign of Edward and she wasn't bothered by it either, she didn't like him and the less she saw of him the better. He'd been sat by Bella's side and hadn't left once but from what Carlisle could tell when she'd been bitten under Hermione's spell, the magic had carried over and she remained unconscious and without feeling the pain of the transformation. Hermione wasn't sure if that news relieved her or not, the part of her that disliked Bella feeling a little vindictive and actually wanting it to hurt her a little.

Jacob had come to terms with losing Bella, he'd visited her once a couple of days ago saying his final goodbye and since, Hermione noticed a change in him. The pack had all gotten together for the first time the previous day at Sue's, who finally held the birthday dinner she wished to have for Hermione. It had been a little strained at first but after Harry and the Weasley siblings made an appearance, things had soon become less tense and they slipped back into the pack mentality she was used to.

It was now Thursday and Jacob and Seth had returned from school an hour ago before disappearing with Charlie and Leah to Merlin knew where. Stefan, Vladimir and Valerian were nowhere to be seen either, leaving Hermione by herself in the tent. Over the last few days, she was able to make a start on restocking her potions stores and whilst the potions were brewing, Hermione had been working on a fix to the phasing naked issue for the wolves. She'd been trying to find a solution for months now and that evening, she'd finally done it.

A cry of triumph left her and she laughed in relief before grabbing her wand from the table and she rushed out of the tent, quickly making her way through the woods and to the Cullen house in search of her boyfriend and best friend so she could tell them the news.

A beaming smile was on her face until it was suddenly wiped away when she heard snarling and growling. Her blood ran cold and her stomach twisted in knots as she ran through the woods without stopping and when she broke through the trees and into the clearing where the Cullen house stood, it was to see Bella, alive (technically) and fully transformed into a vampire and the glowing red eyes gave that away. She didn't know what had been happening in her absence but a cry of horror left her when Bella pounced at Jacob, only for Seth to jump in front of him and her wolf was sent flying across the clearing until he slammed into a tree, landing in a heap on the ground with a whimper of pain.

"SETH!" She cried, darting across the clearing and to his side, dropping onto her knees beside him and running her wand over his side, the Diagnostic Spells she'd cast showing he had broken ribs.

Fury coursed through her until she felt her magic crackling beneath her very skin and flowing through her blood. She felt her own heartbeat pick up and caught sight of crackling sparks littering the ground around her, the furious flecks of residual fire and magic sparking from her hair.

She slowly turned around and her eyes darkened to the point of them almost being black. The smug smile suddenly dropped from Edward Cullen's face and she summarised he'd willingly allowed Bella to harm Jacob should she wish to, and the looks on the faces of the other Cullens said the opposite, that they'd disagreed with him.

Hermione slowly stood from Seth's side when Leah took up position by his side, carefully probing at his ribs with her snout and Hermione walked over to stand in front of Jacob, her small frame not hiding him from view but her intentions were clear. Bella had to go through her first, and although Hermione hadn't wanted her dead as a human, she was now a vampire and that was an entirely different matter. She had no reservations about killing a vampire, especially one that had harmed Seth.

Bella eyed Hermione hatefully and Hermione returned the gesture, but Hermione's hatred and anger were far darker and stronger than the newly turned vampire could ever realise.

" _I_ killed your demonic monster of a child," she spoke, her voice cold and hateful and without remorse. "And I have no regrets in doing so. You're delusional if you think that _thing_ was actually a baby. It wasn't, it was a monster and everyone here saw what it would've done if it had been allowed to live. You're quick to take your anger out on others, when in fact your own husband didn't morn your child or seek revenge for what I'd done because he knew what I did was the only option available. As did everyone else and they were all a part of keeping Edward away from you so we could do what needed to be done."

"I did my best to keep you human but your little monster had already killed you and there was nothing I could do for your organ failure. I was happy with the knowledge that once you'd turned you'd be taken far away from here, but now, you've not only pissed me off by going after someone I care for, you've harmed my boyfriend, and I'm very protective of him. I swore to never harm another human, but now you're a vampire and fair game, I won't hesitate to kill you."

"I'd like to see you try," Bella sneered, deliberately showing her fangs.

A dark, cruel smile pulled at Hermione's mouth. "You're not nearly as indestructible as you think you are, even as a newborn. That may make you stronger, but it also makes you far stupider than you were as a human and I didn't think that was possible."

Hermione's eyes briefly flickered to Rosalie who snorted at her as she lounged against the wall of the house casually without a care in the world, seeming to be enjoying the show.

"I'm going to kill you!" Bella snapped.

Hermione's smile widened. "Edward, I suggest you put a leash on your new pet or I'll have to punish her."

"Bella, don't do anything stupid," Edward finally spoke, cautiously making his way down the steps of the porch and over to Bella, encircling her wrist with his hand and tugging her back. "I can't protect you from her."

"I don't need protection," Bella protested.

"Oh, but you do, Bella," Hermione promised. "After all, I'm human, so why is he so afraid of me, and why is no one else willing to defend you?"

"I wouldn't do anything stupid, Bella," Jasper warned. "Even _I_ wouldn't pick a fight with her, and neither would _the Major_. She'll end your very existence before it's even started."

Hermione smirked and gently held her wand in her grasp and with a muttered spell, several trees to the right suddenly caught fire, causing everyone to startle in surprise. Bella's eyes widened and turned to Hermione.

"Yes, I did that, and I'm far more powerful than you are, newborn strength and speed or not. It seems you need to be educated on the existence of other beings more powerful than yourself, but given how stupid you are, I can imagine that taking centuries, luckily for you, you have the time."

Bella snarled and lunged forward, only to stop when a roar of fury sounded and Benji came flying out of the woods, coming to a stop and hovering in front of Hermione and flames flew from his mouth. Edward pulled Bella back a step so she wouldn't catch fire and Bella made a noise of surprise.

"He's very protective of me and those I care for," Hermione shrugged her shoulders, and looked behind her, seeing that Charlie stepped out of the woods with a worried frown on his face. "Dear Bella has harmed Seth and I'm teaching her a lesson," she said sweetly.

Charlie chose not to reply and just shook his head at her, making his way over to Seth so he could check him for injuries and see if he could speed up the healing process.

"You see, Bella, human I may be but powerless I am not, and I'm certainly far more dangerous than anything you could possibly encounter," she said, lifting her hand to lightly pet Benji on the head as he watched Bella and Edward with narrowed eyes. "I expect an apology to Jacob and Seth, I expect a thank you for killing your demonic monster of a child and preventing a mass killing, and I expect for you to be out of Forks and far the hell away from my loved ones by Saturday. And if I ever see you or hear of you being here, I _will_ kill you and without any feelings of remorse."

"Bella and Edward will be gone far longer than you think," a smooth voice interrupted and they all turned their heads to see Valerian, Stefan and Vladimir stepping out of the cover of the trees and standing off to the left.

"I've been wondering where you three disappeared to," she mused, scratching Benji on the head and absentmindedly sending a spell to the flaming trees to extinguish the fire before it could spread further.

"Meeting our guests," Valerian replied.

She noticed how Stefan and Vladimir appeared to be trying to hide their disgust and hatred but were failing as they stood behind the older vampire with their arms clasped behind their backs. So they didn't like their guests?

"Guests?" Hermione questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I wasn't away we had guests arriving."

"We wanted it to be a surprise," he replied, turning his head to look over his shoulder, just as four figures stepped out of the trees and they came into view as they entered the clearing of the house.

Hermione didn't need to see the looks of worry that crossed the Cullens' faces to know who they were. The robes gave it away. The Volturi Guard.

The first was by far the tallest, he was even taller than Emmet and around Jacob's height of six-foot-seven. He had bright red eyes and olive-pale skin with dark black hair cut short. The second was smaller than the first but still tall, standing at six-foot-three with red eyes, olive-pale skin and his black hair spiked up at the front. Both vampires appeared to be older than the other two; she'd say they'd been changed during their early-twenties.

The third vampire was smaller, around five-foot-nine. He had pale skin and red eyes and the tips of his black hair touched his ears. He was so beautiful he looked to be angelic, and she'd say he was around fifteen, maybe sixteen when he was changed. The fourth and final vampire was a young girl, and she could see the similarities between her and the younger boy. The girl looked to be the same age with pale skin and red eyes, but her blonde hair was tied back into an elegant bun at the back of her head and she was by far the shortest. She wasn't quite as small as Alice but she was definitely smaller than the other women present, Hermione would say around five-foot-three.

She quickly put the pieces together, realising that the boy and girl were siblings, but not just any siblings, the Witch Twins, and she knew what their abilities were. But knowing their gifts were psychological, anyone wearing one of her necklaces would be protected from them. It seemed her necklaces were far more useful than she intended them to be.

"Jane, Alec, Demetri, Felix," Carlisle greeted, taking charge of the situation and stepping forward. "To do what do we owe the pleasure of a visit from you?" He asked, but the four vampires' eyes were family locked on _her_ , the wand in her hand and Benji hovering in front of her protectively. She felt more than saw Jacob step out from behind her and moving to stand beside her instead.

"Can I help you?" She arched an eyebrow in challenge.

The two older vampires shared an amused look and turned their eyes back to her, smirks pulling at their mouths.

"Only, it's impolite to stare, and I'm not in the best of moods at the moment," she said, her eyes flickering over to her wolf and Charlie kneeled beside him. "I would hate to take my anger out on you rather than the one that truly deserves it," she said, her eyes moving to glare at Bella and then turning back to the four vampires. The twins' mouths both pulled into smirks at her words, too.

"You don't like her?" The girl asked, nodding her head to Bella.

"No, I _really_ don't. I don't care for him, either," she nodded to Edward. "But the others aren't that bad, which is why they're both still walking, out of respect to them I haven't yet killed them."

"Feisty, aren't you?" The second tallest vampire spoke, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

She shrugged in response before patting Benji on the head and the dragon took the hint and lowered himself to the ground until he wrapped his tail around her legs and he pressed his head against her thigh.

"You are Hermione Granger, the Warrior Witch?" The youngest male asked her.

She sighed. "Has everyone bloody heard of me?" She muttered.

"Every vampire that cares for their lives, yes," the largest vampire said amusedly.

"Fantastic," she grumbled.

"Fascinating, isn't she?" Valerian spoke. "She is immune to my gift," he said, and all four vampires looked at her curiously at that.

"I'm getting annoyed," she warned and the males chuckled at her whilst the blonde tilted her head to the side, watching her with her red eyes carefully. "So, please, enlighten us, why are the Volturi Guard visiting?"

"You really are as bright as they say," the youngest male said.

"The Brightest Witch of her Age," Charlie piped up and she turned to glare at his back. "I don't have to look to know you're trying to burn a hole in my back. That glare is hotter than dragon's fire," he said, sounding amused. "And I'm on holiday, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't burn me, Little Sis."

She scowled at him and crossed her arms in a huff, turning her glare to the vampires that snorted at her.

"Why are you here?" She asked. "Please, we're all just _dying_ to know and the suspense is killing me," she said sarcastically.

Thankfully, the four vampires turned their eyes away from her and to Bella and Edward.

"You broke the laws and we are here to ensure punishment is given," the blonde said, her face blank and free of emotion.

"Bella is no longer human, as you can see," Carlisle said calmly.

"That is not the laws we speak of," the youngest male said. "We have been made aware that a child was conceived between a human and a vampire. There is a reason the laws are strict regarding human and vampire relations, and that reason is why Edward and Bella must be punished."

"Laws?" Carlisle's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yes, _laws_. We are aware of what Valerian shared with you, and human and vampire relations were outlawed to prevent another massacre. This law is more sacred than that of our existence being kept from humans. This is the reason the Volturi were adamant that Bella be turned _before_ there was a possibility of it happening again. There is nothing that can be done to free them of their punishment. Punishment is execution, yet the Lords are being merciful and are instructing that Bella and Edward serve out their punishment with the Volturi for a period of one thousand years."

"That's ridiculous!" Bella spluttered.

"It's not actually," Hermione injected. "I would've just killed you, they're being merciful, after all, no one wants to put with you for that long. I've disliked you since before we even met." The two tall vampires chuckled, as did her three guests and Rosalie. "And I'm feeling rather vindictive after all the trouble you've caused, as well as the fact you harmed the one I love, and I think you should burn in hell. The closest to that is the Volturi," she said. "No offence," she added, looking to the four Guard members and they looked more amused than angry at her words.

"Can we keep her?" The second tallest vampire asked his three companions, tipping his head in a manner that made him look like a young child begging his parents for something with the use of puppy dog eyes.

"No," Hermione said. "You most certainly cannot keep me."

He actually pouted in response and she rolled her eyes.

"We are to return with you to Volterra by the end of the week, are you going to come willingly or do we have to use force?" The blonde asked, but the way her eyes sparkled Hermione knew she would much rather prefer the latter option.

Bella looked to Edward, expectant of him to get them out of their punishment and Edward looked to Carlisle who had a sad expression on his face.

"I am sorry, Edward. There is nothing we can do. After witnessing what I did regarding Valerian's memories of what the child would become, I understand why we had to destroy it and I understand why the laws are so strict. There is nothing that I can do to help you. You've been shown mercy and my advice is that you accept their punishment and live it out. It's the only option I see that does not end in death."

"Carlisle, you can't be serious!" Bella raged.

"I am sorry, Bella, but I am."

Bella's rage was apparent and as she went to attack her father-in-law, the sudden appearance of a ring of fire that surrounded both her and Edward, stopped her from doing so.

"Can I kill her now?" Hermione asked, her wand pointed in the couple's direction and controlling the ring of flames to prevent them from getting out of hand. "Please?" She pleaded.

"I vote yes," Rosalie said, raising her hand slightly.

"Rosalie!" Esme scolded and Hermione sniggered when Rosalie looked disappointed. "No one is going to by dying today," she said firmly, walking down the porch steps to stand beside her husband. "There is no other option available?" She asked the Volturi Guard hopefully.

"There is no other option available," the largest vampire confirmed. "We have been instructed to return with them, but if they put up a fight, we've been given permission to kill Bella and Edward will still face his punishment."

"If they show the Lords they can be trusted, Edward will be allowed to join the Guard, and if that happens, they will be free to have visitors at Volterra. If they serve their punishment in full and behave in a manner that is deemed appropriate, they will be freed from their servitude and gain their freedom," the second tallest said.

"No, I refuse to be a prisoner," Bella shook her head furiously.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "So, what? You're going to run? You do realise that you're severely outnumbered, yes? There's at least eight vampires here that don't like you, plus two wolves, myself and my brother. You wouldn't stand a chance of escaping. Just serve out your punishment, you're now immortal, a thousand years is nothing to you."

With a nod from Carlisle, Hermione reluctantly lowered her wand and the ring of flames disappeared, no longer containing Edward and Bella.

"Edward, what do we do?" Bella asked him.

"There's nothing we can do," he muttered. "Even if we were able to escape, Demetri would be able to track us where ever we went and we'll be executed for treason."

Hermione turned her eyes, seeing the second tallest smirking at his words. That made him Demetri. She knew Jane to be the only female and she suspected Alec to be her brother, making the largest vampire Felix. Well, at least now she could put names to faces.

"Will someone please make a decision, I'm getting bored?" Hermione sighed, her head turning to Charlie when he stood from her wolf's side and approached her, and the large wolf was able to stand and hobble off into the woods.

"He's going to be fine, his ribs are already healing and I've made sure they'll heal in the correct position. If you give him some Skele-Gro later, it'll help speed up the healing process and he should be fine by tomorrow," Charlie said.

"Thank you, Charlie," she smiled at him.

Seth stepped out of the trees wearing nothing but jean shorts and a pair of trainers, and he held his hand against his aching side, but when he saw her, a smile pulled at his mouth and she quickly rushed over to him, engulfing him in a hug but being careful of his ribs.

"I'm fine," he promised. "Does this mean you'll let me stay home tomorrow?"

She pulled back from him and laughed. "If your ribs aren't healed by tomorrow morning, I'll forge yet _another_ note as your doctor," she responded and he grinned. "Keep going this way and they'll start getting suspicious."

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, guiding them back over to Jacob and Charlie and the large wolf that eyed the vampires suspiciously.

"Seriously, can someone make a decision, I'm getting bored," Hermione said, deliberately ignoring the curious looks of the vampires whose eyes were darting between her and Seth.

"We're not going, you can't make us," Bella said stubbornly, her eyes darting about the area and planning an escape route.

"They can, but if I were them I'd just kill you," Hermione shrugged. "As it is, I owe you a punishment for harming Seth."

She raised her wand and levelled it at Bella, her mind running through the possible options available.

"Hermione, I'm fine," Seth assured her.

"No, you're not, she broke several of your ribs," she glowered. "There's a lot of things you can talk me out of, Seth, but this isn't one of them. She hurt you and she's not getting away with it. Just take comfort in the fact I'm not going to kill her."

"I can't, I've seen what you do to people you don't kill and it's terrifying," he replied, thinking of the day they'd been attacked at the beach by the remaining Death Eater fugitives and how she'd taken revenge on some of them.

"I'm having trouble choosing a punishment," she admitted with a frown.

"What your sister did to your ex-boyfriend was great," Jacob offered from beside her.

Hermione shook her head. "The Bat-Bogey Hex is not nearly punishment enough, as it is, no one can cast it quite like Ginny can."

"I taught her that hex," Charlie grinned proudly.

"I thought the twins taught her it," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Technically, but I'm the one that introduced them to it, so you could say I'm the one that taught her it," he shrugged.

She rolled her eyes. "As it is, it's still not punishment enough and I'm feeling particularly vindictive this evening. I'm leaning towards the idea of forcing her to mentally face her worst fears," she mused.

"Isn't that would you did to Nott's father?"

"Yes, and Paul's," she nodded.

"Wait, you knew?" Jacob asked and Seth looked surprised, too.

"Of course I knew," she scoffed. "I overheard you talking about it once, but even if I hadn't, I know the signs of abuse all too well, the only difference being Theo's father used magic and Paul's used his fists."

"I think that may be a bit extreme," Seth said, trying to turn her away from the idea.

"I don't, I think it's perfect, but seeing as you're so against it we'll go with something else, _Entomorphis_ ," Hermione muttered, and a beam of light struck Bella in the chest. Before their eyes, she began to shrink in size and her form changed until all that was left was a small beetle.

"Hermione, you know human to animal transfiguration is dangerous," Charlie scolded.

"Then it's a good job she's not human, isn't it?" She replied innocently, absentmindedly conjuring a glass jar and levitating the beetle over to her and locking her inside the jar before she could try to escape. "I'm getting a strange sense of de ja vu," she commented lightly.

Charlie sighed, bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure it has nothing to do with you kidnapping a reporter and keeping her locked in a glass jar for months."

"She survived, didn't she?" She replied. "And at least I fed her and put holes in the jar lid so she could breathe, which was more than she deserved. And I let her go in the end."

"So you could blackmail her," he pointed out.

"Semantics," she waved him off before turning her eyes to the surprised looking vampires that surrounded her. "Well, I believe I've just made transport easier for you," she said to the Volturi Guard before throwing the jar over to them and the large vampire caught it easily. "So long as that lid remains on the jar, she'll be stuck in that form for however long you wish, but do me a favour and wait a while for it all to truly sink in."

"You're vindictive," Demetri commented, looking amused.

"Can't deny that," she shrugged. "And if you don't mind, I need to get Seth home so I can heal him. I'll leave you to deal with that one," she gestured to Edward who was staring at the glass jar and the beetle inside it with wide eyes, before she turned around and made for the woods, knowing that Jacob, Leah, Charlie, Seth and Benji were following after her.

"Hey, I don't like the colour of my new..."

"Come by later, Ice Queen, and I'll fix it," Hermione called over her shoulder knowingly. "Well, that was a surprising turn of events," Hermione mused as they made their way towards the tent.

"What were you going to tell us?" Jacob asked, "I could hear your mutterings but couldn't understand what you were saying being too focused on Bella trying to kill me."

Hermione glowered at his words but she shook her head of her thoughts and she turned to look over her shoulder and grinned at them. "I've found a solution to your clothes being torn when phasing."

"No more naked phasing?"

"No more naked phasing," she confirmed with a smile. "And now that Bella's gone, we can finally go home to the pack, where we belong."


	56. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Page count: 5

**Five years later...**

“Mrs. Clearwater?”

Hermione looked away from her conversation with a smile on her face at the sound of her husband’s voice.

“Can I convince you to share a dance with me?” He smiled at her widely, his eyes being as beautiful as they were five years ago, and his face looking older but still with a few boyish features peaking through.

“Of course,” she replied.

She stood from her chair and stepped away from the table, ensuring that she wouldn’t trip on the skirt of her dress as Seth took her hand in his and led her over to the makeshift dance floor. When the music began to play, the crowd gathered around to watch them share their first dance as man and wife.

In the last five years, Seth and Hermione had plenty to deal with but they’d been able to get through it together. After the whole Bella pregnancy situation had been dealt with, it had taken all but a month for the pack to finally be back together again as they once were, and it hadn’t taken as long as Hermione thought it would’ve. But the pack was stronger for what they’d been forced to do and they were closer than ever.

The Cullens had stayed around for another year until they all left Forks, the only reason for them staying at all after Edward’s and Bella’s imprisonment with the Volturi, being Hermione. They all wanted to spend more time with her, getting to know her and her magic, and in doing so, Hermione had become very good friends with the family, and once they moved, they’d been sure to stay in contact.

A year after the pregnancy, Leah had moved away from the pack and La Push altogether and she moved to Romania, living on the Dragon Reserve with Charlie and she’d gotten a job in a nearby muggle village. It had surprised everyone but Hermione, especially the Weasley siblings and they’d teased Charlie over it for years. After being together for four years and living together for three, Charlie had finally proposed the previous year and Leah had accepted. They were set to marry in two year’s time.

After the pregnancy and Hermione no longer needing to spread her time between searching for rogue Death Eaters and solving the mystery of a vampire-human pregnancy, she’d finally decided what she wanted to do with her life and Seth had supported her fully when she started her Healer’s training. Five years later, she was a fully qualified Healer and she worked at St. Helena’s Magical Hospital as one of their best and most trusted Healers.

After Seth had graduated school, at the age of eighteen he officially moved in with her despite the fact they’d all but been living together for the better part of two years. Hermione had made the decision to give up the tent and they’d found a patch of land close to Sue’s house, where she and the pack were able to build a small cottage-like house, and with the aid of magic, the packs’ abilities and Sam being a contractor, they’d gotten it done within a few weeks.

The house only had one floor but with the aid of magic they’d been able to alter the inside of the house much like the tent had been. The house contained a kitchen and dining area, a living room, a master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, a separate bathroom, two smaller bedrooms, a potions lab and finally, a library.

When Seth graduated school, he’d made the decision not to attend college and instead went straight into training, wishing to join the police force, and he’d been a police officer just over four years now. He loved his job and Hermione wasn’t opposed to the uniform either.

After a year of living together, Seth being nineteen and Hermione twenty-one, they’d discovered that Hermione was pregnant after a miscalculation regarding the time between Contraception Potion dosage requirements. It had come as more than a shock to both of them, and despite them both being so young and just starting out in their careers, together they’d gotten through it.

Sue had been over the moon when she’d learned the news and the pack had been shocked into silence, before hugs and congratulations were shared, with several of the members admitting that they’d always thought she’d be the first imprint to fall pregnant, especially with the way she and Seth always seemed to be unable to keep their hands to themselves. That conversation had ended in hexes. 

They now had a two-year-old little girl they’d named Suzie-Leigh, after Seth’s mother and sister. She was doted on by her father, by her Grandmother and especially by the wolves, her favourites being Jacob and Paul. She was a double of her mother with her chocolate brown eyes, small button nose and wild, uncontrollable curls, but her skin having more of a copper tone it, much like her Grandmother and Aunt. With the help of the pack and Sue, Hermione and Seth were still able to attend their jobs every day and little Suzie spent her days with her Grandmother or different pack members, depending on each of their work schedules. But no one ever complained; they all loved little Suzie.

When Hermione had gone into labour she’d been visiting Seth at the police station as he’d forgotten his lunch that morning, she’d gone into labour three weeks early, sending panic throughout the station. Rather than phoning an ambulance, it’d been quicker for her to be transported in the back of a police car with some of Seth’s colleagues giving them a police escort to clear the path to the hospital.

By the time they’d arrived, most of the pack had left their jobs and taken an early lunch and they were waiting at the hospital along with Sue. After twelve hours of labour, countless ear-shattering screams and Seth being grateful for his shape-shifting strength as his hand remained uninjured, little Suzie had been born into the world.

The day after she’d been discharged from the hospital, they’d taken their daughter home and Seth officially asked her to marry him. After a flood of tears, she’d agreed and two years later brought them to now. Their wedding day.

They’d wanted to keep the ceremony as simple and small as possible and they’d chosen First Beach as their wedding venue, it being the place they’d met. They were careful about who they invited to the wedding as Kingsley had offered to be the marriage official, making it a magical wedding ceremony. For that reason, none of the imprints of the other wolves had been invited but the pack understood and didn’t push the matter, and none of Seth’s colleagues from work had been invited either.

They’d had no more than forty guests with the Weasley siblings being present, along with their partners. There being Bill, Fleur and their five-year-old daughter, Victorie, a newly engaged George and Angelina, Harry and Ginny who’d been married almost two years, Charlie (who’d thankfully left a now fully grown Benji at the reserve) and Leah, Fred and Mr. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley had refused to attend but Hermione didn’t care, and Percy hadn’t been able to get the day off work. They also had the pack members, Sue, Billy, Theo, Blaise, Lee, Oliver, Seamus, Dean, Neville and his girlfriend Hannah Abbot, and that led to their vampire guests.

Jacob had given special permission to allow them to attend the wedding, but they were limited to the beach and nowhere else. Rosalie and Emmet, Jasper and Alice and Carlisle and Esme had taken time out of their busy schedules to return to Forks so they could see Hermione and Seth get married, and they also had Stefan, Vladimir and Valerian as guests, too, as Hermione had kept in touch once they’d returned home to Transylvania all those years ago.

Her wedding ceremony had been perfect; Harry had walked her down the aisle, their vows had been short but meaningful and the magical bonding had ended in golden and red fireworks, showcasing the strong bond of love and trust between Hermione and Seth and indicating that they’d have a happy life together, but they already knew they would. They were mates, after all.

They’d had a wonderful meal of which Sue had slaved over to prepare, not accepting help from anyone no matter how many times Esme had offered. Alice, Rosalie, Leah and Ginny had helped her to ready for the ceremony and they were her bridesmaids, too. They’d had the speeches leading to Hermione crying and her bridesmaids glaring at those that had made her cry as it had almost ruined her makeup, and now, Hermione and Seth were finally having their first dance with camera flashes going off and muttering being heard from the crowd surrounding them.

“Are you happy?” Seth asked her softly.

She lifted her head away from leaning against his chest and looked up at him with a soft smile on her face, before she projected her feelings onto him and he sighed, letting his head drop down to bury against her neck.

“Incredibly happy and it’s all because of you. I love you, Seth Harry Clearwater.”

She felt him smile against her neck. “And I love you, Hermione Jean _Clearwater_ ,” he said in reply, pulling his head back to gently kiss her on the lips, brushing one of the curls that were framing her face out of the way and his finger softly grazing her cheek as she leaned into his touch.

“Are you happy?” She asked.

The smile on his face hadn’t left since he’d seen her walking down the aisle and looking beautiful in her lace wedding gown.

“Since the moment I met you,” he replied. “And I know as long as I have you beside me, no matter what life throws my way, I’ll get through it.”

“There’s something I want to show you.”

“And that is?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow when she stopped their dancing and pulled away from him, removing her wand from the hidden pocket in her gown and pressing it to her stomach.

With a muttered incantation, a soft blue glow appeared from the tip of her wand before it split into two and hovered over her stomach.

“Is that what I think it is?” He asked in a whisper, his wide eyes glued to her stomach.

She nodded with her eyes beginning to tear up. “Surprise,” she said softly.

A laugh left him and he pulled her into him, wrapping her up in his arms and hugging her to him tightly.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Emmet called out.

“Yeah, us with normal hearing want to know, too!” Fred shouted.

“And those with only one good ear!” George added, gaining chuckles and eye rolls from the crowd.

Hermione and Seth pulled back from each other and turned to face their gathered wedding guests, and Seth crouched down and scooped up Suzie in his arms when she ran over to them in her little lilac-coloured dress. He sat her on his hip and put his free arm around Hermione and pulled her into his side.

Hermione lifted her wand back to her stomach and recast the spell for everyone to see the two softly glowing balls of blue light hovering over her stomach. Gasps rang out with the magical folk, but the humans, shifters and vampires just looked confused.

“And for those of us who aren’t wizards and witches?” Paul asked amusedly, stuffing his hands into his trouser suit pockets.

“I’m pregnant, around ten weeks,” she confessed.

Whispers and mutters of surprise rang out as the news sunk in.

“And she’s not just pregnant,” George grinned.

“She’s pregnant with twins!” Fred finished in an excited shout, sharing a high-five with his own twin. “Way to go, Little Sis!”

Seth looked down at Hermione in surprise. “Twins, really?” He questioned.

She nodded with a sniffle. “Yes, that’s why there were two orbs of light.”

“We’re going to have to remodel the house,” he replied, earning laughs from the others.

Once the news sunk in, their crowd of guests surrounded them on the makeshift dance floor and offered their congratulations, and poor Sue was absolutely beside herself. Hermione didn’t think she had any more tears left to cry after the ceremony, she was wrong.

Once they’d been hugged and congratulated, the reception continued and soon the dance floor was filled with guests dancing and laughing, and Suzie demanded to be put down so she could dance with her Uncle Jacob and Aunt Rosalie.

Seth took Hermione in his arms once more and the music and crowd surrounding them disappeared as they grew lost in each other. 

“Thank you,” Hermione said softly.

“For what?” He questioned, wiping away her happy tears with his thumbs as his hands cradled her face gently.

“For being the one that I needed.”

“I’d do and be anything you need me to be,” he replied.

She nodded, knowing it to be true, but all she needed was him.

“Thank you for saving me, My Wolf.”


End file.
